title: The Use of Rubrics in the Clinical Evaluation of Podiatric Medical Students: Objectification of the Subjective Experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We assessed the differences in podiatric medical students' clinical professionalism objective scores (CPOSs) by comparing a previous nonrubric evaluation tool with a more recently implemented objective-centered rubric evaluation tool. This type of study has never been performed or reported on in the podiatric medical education literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective analysis of 89 third-year podiatric medical students between academic years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. A Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was performed to compare CPOSs from the students' first (CPOS1) and second (CPOS2) rotations. A correlation analysis was performed comparing students' grade point averages (GPAs) with each of the individual CPOSs to verify the validity of the rubric evaluation tool.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Pearson correlation coefficients for the relationship between 2012 CPOS1 and CPOS2 and GPA were r = 0.233 (P ≤ .093) and r = 0.290 (P < .035) and for the relationship between 2013 CPOS1 and CPOS2 and GPA were r = 0.525 (P = .001) and r = 0.730 (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that the use of a rubric in the evaluation of podiatric medical students' CPOSs is correlated with their GPAs, and CPOS2 demonstrated a higher correlation than CPOS1. We believe that implementation of the rubric evaluation tool has increased the accuracy of the evaluation of podiatric medical students with respect to CPOSs.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Geletta
authors.forename: Austin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McArdle
mesh_terms: D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011032:Podiatry / Q000193:education*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013337:Students, Medical