title: The presence of distinct and stable skills among students assessed for clinical competence in oncology.
abstract: Several aspects of clinical competence in oncology were assessed among sixty-one fourth-year medical students, and results correlated with success in other areas of the curriculum as well as the extent of previous exposure to cancer patients. The inter-relationships identified by factor analysis among the outcome and predictor measures suggest that several distinct competencies were being assessed. In addition, certain skills, such as the ability to generate appropriate diagnostic hypotheses and to perform well on multiple-choice exams, appear to have been stable across time. These findings imply that there are distinct components to clinical competence, and that various methods of evaluation reflect these competencies differently.
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education*; D009864:Ontario