title: [Quality improvement of multiple choice examinations: in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, psychotherapy, and neurology].
abstract: We describe a continuous improvement process in planning, performance, and evaluation of multiple choice examination questions in psychiatry, neurology, psychosomatic medicine, and psychotherapy. We analyzed 640 multiple choice questions of 1,419 students during a period of 4 years. Crucial changes concerned the abolishment of problematic question types, implementation of validated new question formats, extension of case-based questions, elongation of question stems, quantitative evaluation of item difficulty, discriminatory value, and the introduction of a peer review system. Consequences of these improvements were greater item difficulty (average 18%) and discriminatory value (average 67%) and reduced post hoc analysis times. Introduction of peer reviews resulted in longer preparation time, which was however appreciated by the peers due to a clear improvement in item quality.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatrische und Psychotherapeutische Klinik, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6, 91954, Erlangen, Deutschland. markus.weih@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weih
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rauch
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Segarra
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Reulbach
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Degirmenci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Zwaan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornhuber
mesh_terms: D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D009462:Neurology / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011611:Psychosomatic Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*