Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32690531›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2020

Survey of physician attitudes to using multisource feedback for competence assessment in Alberta.

Nigel Ashworth, Nicole Allison Kain, Ed Jess, Karen Mazurek

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Nigel AshworthDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ashworth@ualberta.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-8221-9812
Nicole Allison KainDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-9159-5841
Ed JessResearch and evaluation unit, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Karen MazurekResearch and evaluation unit, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario · CAUniversity of Alberta · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe use of multisource feedback (MSF) for assessing physician performance is widespread and rapidly growing. Findings from early very small research studies using highly selected participants suggest high levels of satisfaction and support. However, after nearly two decades of experience using MSF to evaluate all physicians in Alberta, we are sceptical of this.

objectivesTo determine physicians' actual opinions of MSF using the entire physician population of Alberta, Canada

designOnline survey.

settingAlberta, Canada.

participantsAll physicians with a full licence to practice in Alberta in 2015.

interventionsAll participants were asked to grade how well they thought MSF was at assessing various aspects of physician performance using a 10-point Likert-type scale. There was also a text response field for written comments. OUTCOMES: Mean responses to quantitative questions. Qualitative content and thematic analysis of open-ended text responses.We analysed the data using SPSS V.23 and NVivo V.11 and built a multivariate model highlighting the predictors of high and low opinions of MSF.

resultsSurvey response rate was high for physicians with 2215 responses (25%). The mean rating for how successful MSF was at assessing a variety of dimensions, varied from a low of 5.03/10 for medical knowledge to a high of 6.38/10 for professionalism and communication. Canadian-trained MDs rated MSF significantly lower on every dimension by approximately 20% compared with non-Canadian-trained MDs.

conclusionsAlberta physicians have much lower opinions about the ability of MSF to measure any dimension of their performance than what has been suggested in the literature. Canadian-trained MDs have a particularly low opinion of MSF for reasons that remain unclear. The results of this survey offer a serious challenge to the effectiveness of a programme that is designed to promote self-reflection and performance improvement.

Indexed as

PhysiciansAlbertaAttitudeClinical CompetenceFeedbackFemaleHumansMaleSurveys and Questionnaireseducation & training (see medical education & training)medical education & trainingquality in health care

Identifiers

PMID32690531
PMCPMC7371216
OpenAlexW3042252256

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.