title: Faculty evaluations of resident medical knowledge: can they be used to predict American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination performance?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) offers annual assessment of resident medical knowledge. We sought to determine if ongoing end-of-rotation evaluations by faculty of residents' medical knowledge correlate with ABSITE performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted over 3 years at 2 institutions. Faculty rated residents' clinical knowledge as part of a global summative evaluation. The intraclass correlation coefficient and convergent validity between faculty evaluations and ABSITE performance were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,562 faculty evaluations were completed for about 147 residents. There was poor agreement among faculty for each resident, with intraclass correlation coefficients of less than 0.2. Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated for evaluations and ABSITE scores and were found to be weakly correlative at one institution and not correlated at all at the other. Finally, evaluations across quartiles of resident ABSITE scores were examined and show no correlation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Faculty evaluations of resident medical knowledge correlate poorly with resident ABSITE performance, and should not be used as an ongoing predictive tool.
authors: Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, 600 Highland Ave, Madison WI 53792. Electronic address: elfenbein@surgery.wisc.edu.
authors: Dawn M
authors: DM
authors: Elfenbein
authors: Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, 600 Highland Ave, Madison WI 53792.
authors: Rebecca S
authors: RS
authors: Sippel
authors: Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin, 600 Highland Ave, Madison WI 53792.
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: McDonald
authors: Department of Surgery, Duke University, 2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27710.
authors: Tammy
authors: T
authors: Watson
authors: Department of Surgery, Duke University, 2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27710.
authors: John E
authors: JE
authors: Scarborough
authors: Department of Surgery, Duke University, 2301 Erwin Rd, Durham, NC 27710.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Migaly
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States
keywords: ABSITE; Medical knowledge; Resident assessment; Resident evaluation