title: A preliminary report on the discrepancy between clinical and test evaluations of competence.
abstract: This report demonstrates the discrepancy that can occur between clinical and test evaluations of competence. It presents retrospective examination of 35 assessments of competence performed on 24 subjects by a multidisciplinary competency panel. The findings of the panel are compared with the subjects' results on the Cognitive Competency Test and on the Mini-Mental State Examination. The results show that the multidisciplinary competency panel will more often find subjects competent than indicated by their psychometric test scores. A process approach to the use of tests is recommended. Reliance on tests to decide the outcome of difficult cases does not appear to be warranted.
authors: Faculty of Human and Social Development, University of Victoria, Vancouver, British Columbia.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Rutman
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Silberfeld
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results