Relationships of internsʼ performances to their self-assessments of their preparedness for internship and to their academic performances in medical school

Abstract

This study addressed the questions of whether medical students' cumulative grade-point averages (GPAs) correlate with the performance assessments (overall and in specific areas of competency) that they receive as interns from their internship program directors, and whether the students' self-assessments of preparedness for internship correlate with their internship directors' overall assessments. A questionnaire to assess interns' competencies was developed and sent to the directors of the internship programs of the 283 1990 and 1991 graduates of the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine who consented to participate in the study (82% of the graduates). Eighty percent of the program directors responded. A similar questionnaire was sent to all 342 of the 1990 and 1991 graduates; 38% provided self-assessments of their competencies and also stated their views on how well prepared they were for their internships. Considering the classes as a group, the mean ratings of the interns' overall competencies by the program directors ranged from 3.7 to 4.3 on a five-point Likert scale (1, unsatisfactory, to 5, outstanding), whereas the interns' ratings of how well they were prepared for their internships (that is, their sense of overall competency) were somewhat lower, ranging from 3.4 to 4.0. The correlations of GPAs with the specific areas of competencies ranged from .28 to .51. The correlation between the mean ratings of the program directors and the mean self-ratings of the interns was .58. The data support the conclusions that medical school academic performance relates significantly to performance in internship and that interns do not rate themselves as highly as their program directors do.

Measuring Residents’ Perceived Preparedness and Skillfulness to Deliver Cross-cultural Care

“…Third, the scale measures residents' perceptions of their preparedness and skillfulness and was not validated by an objective measure; self-report responses may be affected by residents' over-or underestimation of their preparedness and skillfulness or by a social desirability bias. Although many studies have shown that residents' self-assessments are consistent with faculty evaluations [7][8][9][10] , others have not 11,12 . Nevertheless, resident self-assessment is often used to evaluate the effectiveness of skills-based curricula [13][14][15][16][17] .…”

Primary Care Resident Perceived Preparedness to Deliver Cross-cultural Care: An Examination of Training and Specialty Differences

“…12,13 Commonly used to evaluate educational experience, self-assessments are relatively stable and predictive of subsequent performance. [14][15][16] Researchers have employed such methods to study resident preparedness for clinical practice 17 and caring for low-income populations. 18 Findings from resident self-assessment investigations have also revealed that physicians across primary care specialties report that they are not equally prepared to treat common medical conditions 19 or to provide preventive counseling.…”

Personal Characteristics Associated with Resident Physicians’ Self Perceptions of Preparedness to Deliver Cross-Cultural Care

“…Also, there is no criterion standard to assess preparedness. However, accurate self-assessments are acknowledged as an important component of adult and lifelong learning [34][35] and have been used in previous studies of educational quality [6][7]36 and shown to be valid predictors of examination scores 37 , and faculty evaluations [38][39][40] .…”