Development of Situational Judgment Tests in Interprofessional Health Education

Abstract

Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) have been considered a valuable strategy to assess attitudinal skills learning in practical scenarios. The objectives of this study are: 1) to describe the process of development and semantic and content evaluation of a SJT in the work of health care residents; 2) to describe the development of a correction sheet for the STJ (answer sheet); and 3) to test the equivalence of complexity of the content of the SJT items. The data from 15 interviews conducted with preceptors and both medical and non-medical residents were analyzed by a group of 6 researchers. They identified gaps in the predominant social skills necessary for collaborative work and training of health residents: understanding roles and responsibilities, debate of different opinions, and collaborative decision-making. Based on these three skills, six real-life situations in multidisciplinary health settings and four open-ended questions were developed for residents to solve. The test content underwent both semantic and content validation. Three tests were selected for a pilot application. The scores generated from answers corrected by two researchers were submitted to statistical analyses to assess content complexity equivalence. Participants underperformed in the SJT, suggesting learning gaps in the assessed social skills. There were no significant differences in scoring, confirming the content complexity equivalence among different situations. The administration of these SJTs has the potential to enhance resident education and interprofessional health training, fostering socio-affective interactions within collaborative work contexts.