Adaptation of the Professionalism Mini- Evaluation Exercise Instrument Into Turkish: A Validity and Reliability Study

Abstract

Background There is an ongoing search for standardized scales appropriate for each culture to evaluate professionalism, which is one of the basic competencies of a physician. The Professionalism Mini-evaluation Exercise (P-MEX) instrument measures professionalism that was developed in Canada. This study aimed to adapt P-MEX into Turkish and evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version. Methods A total of 58 resident students at Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital were assessed with the Turkish version of P-MEX by 24 raters consisting of faculty members, attending physicians, peer residents, and nurses during patient room visits and outpatient clinic and group practices. For construct validity, the confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling was performed. For reliability, a decision study were undertaken, and Cronbach’s alpha scores were calculated. After the administration of P-MEX was completed, the participants were asked to provide feedback on the acceptability, feasibility, and educational impact of the instrument. Results A total of 696 forms were obtained from the administration of P-MEX. The content validity of P-MEX was found to be appropriate by the faculty members. In the confirmatory factor analysis of the original structure of the 24-item Turkish scale, the goodness-of-fit parameters were calculated as follows: CFI = 0.675, TLI = 0.604, and RMSEA = 0.089. In the second stage, the factors on which the items loaded were changed without removing any item, and the model was modified. For the modified model, the CFI, TLI, and RMSEA values were calculated as 0.857, 0.834, and 0.057, respectively. The decision study on the results obtained from the use of P-MEX in a Turkish population revealed the necessity to perform this evaluation 18 times to correctly evaluate professionalism with this instrument. Cronbach’s alpha score was 0.844. All the faculty members provided positive feedback on the acceptability, feasibility, and educational impact of the adapted P-MEX. Conclusion The findings of this study showed that the Turkish version of P-MEX had sufficient validity and reliability in assessing professionalism among resident students. Similarly, the acceptability and feasibility of the instrument were found to be high, and it had a positive impact on education. Trial registration: 2020/249, Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital