Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38519915›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2024

Evaluating clinical reasoning in first year DPT students using a script concordance test.

Lindsey Kojich, Stephanie A Miller, Katelyn Axman, Timothy Eacret, J Atticus Koontz, Caroline Smith

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lindsey KojichUniversity of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, 46227, Indianapolis, IN, USA. kojichl@uindy.edu.
Stephanie A MillerUniversity of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, 46227, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Katelyn AxmanUniversity of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, 46227, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Timothy EacretUniversity of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, 46227, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
J Atticus KoontzUniversity of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, 46227, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Caroline SmithUniversity of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, 46227, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
University of Indianapolis · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA script concordance test (SCT) provides a series of clinical vignettes to assess clinical reasoning in uncertainty. Appraised throughout health education literature, SCTs are cognitive assessments of clinical reasoning, though their use in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) entry-level education has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to develop and explore the reliability and validity of a SCT for first year DPT students.

methodsThe SCT was developed and implemented over four phases. During phases one and two, DPT program faculty consulted on course content from the first-year curriculum. Thirty clinical vignettes with three follow-up questions each were constructed. The SCT was pilot tested with five clinicians in phase three to assess question clarity. During phase four, the SCT was administered to students and a reference panel via Qualtrics. First year DPT students (n = 44) and reference panel physical therapists with at least two years of experience and advanced certification (n = 15) completed the SCT. Internal consistency was analyzed using Cronbach's Alpha. Differences between student and reference panel percent-correct scores were analyzed with a t-test. Relationships between student SCT scores and academic records were explored with Spearman's Rho.

resultsThe SCT had an internal consistency of 0.74. A significant difference in scores was found between the students [mean 58.5 (+/-5.31)] and reference panel [65.8 (+/-4.88), p < .01]. No significant correlations between student SCT scores and academic records were found.

conclusionsThe developed SCT was reliable and demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency among test items. The SCT successfully differentiated between groups, with the reference panel demonstrating statistically significant higher percent-correct scores compared to students. SCTs may provide means to measure clinical reasoning in DPT students and lead to novel pedagogical approaches to enhance clinical reasoning.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceEducational MeasurementClinical ReasoningHumansReproducibility of ResultsStudentsAssessmentClinical reasoningPhysical therapyScript concordance test

Identifiers

PMID38519915
PMCPMC11404025
OpenAlexW4393097257

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.