Intersite consistency as a measurement of programmatic evaluation in a medicine clerkship with multiple, geographically separated sites.
OBJECTIVE
This study introduces "intersite consistency" as a measurement of programmatic evaluation and demonstrates its feasibility and construct validity.


METHODS
Student data in our multisite, geographically separated clerkship were collected prospectively over a ten-year period (1990-2000). We calculated mean scores for each clerkship measurement and analyzed these data on both a yearly and a 10-year cumulative basis. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression were used for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
Data for 1,632 (98%) students were included in our study. During this ten-year study period, we had 22 different on-site clerkship directors at seven clerkship sites. ANOVA and linear regression of year-to-year and cumulative data did not demonstrate an effect of site on student outcomes.


CONCLUSIONS
Intersite consistency can be used as one measure of programmatic evaluation for multisite clerkships.
Durning
Steven J
SJ
Department of Internal Medicine, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, USUHS, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799, USA. sduring@usuhs.mil
Pangaro
Louis N
LN
Denton
Gerald D
GD
Hemmer
Paul A
PA
Wimmer
Alan
A
Grau
Thomas
T
Gaglione
Margaret A
MA
Moores
Lisa
L
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D009096:Multi-Institutional Systems; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States