title: Intersite consistency as a measurement of programmatic evaluation in a medicine clerkship with multiple, geographically separated sites.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, USUHS, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799, USA. sduring@usuhs.mil
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Durning
authors.forename: Louis N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Pangaro
authors.forename: Gerald D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Denton
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hemmer
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wimmer
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grau
authors.forename: Margaret A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gaglione
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moores
mesh_terms: 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