Use of script concordance test to assess pharmaceutical diabetic care: a pilot study in Thailand

Abstract

The script concordance (SC) test is an assessment tool designed to probe whether knowledge of examinees is efficiently organized for clinical actions. The aim of this study was to develop an SC test, and determine whether it could be used to differentiate novices from expert pharmacists in their ability to carry out clinical actions in the area of diabetes mellitus. The SC test was developed and validated according to guidelines proposed previously. Data analysis was performed using a post-hoc test and ANOVA. The test developed had 31 items. Participants included 54 students, six new graduates, and 16 clinical pharmacists. Average scores and standard deviations for students, new graduates and clinical pharmacists were 18.54 (2.90), 20.27(1.42) and 21.09(2.89), respectively. The group differences were significant (p < 0.05). It is concluded that the SC test could accurately differentiate examinees according to levels of experience. It could be a useful tool to measure students' progress in the area of diabetes mellitus.

Analyzing Script Concordance Test Scoring Methods and Items by Difficulty and Type

“…Novices, residents, and experts demonstrated significantly different levels of reasoning, and SCT scores were positively correlated to training level. Because numerous studies have tested this concept (of concurrent validity) at the composite score level and reported similar findings, [15][16][17][18][19] we were not surprised to observe that all six scoring methods differentiated between training levels and that scores correlated with level of development.…”

Script concordance testing: a review of published validity evidence

“…Script concordance hinges on an inference that examinees with more evolved illness scripts will interpret data and make decisions that increasingly concord with those of experts given the same clinical scenarios. Indeed, SCTs used in various domains of medicine have consistently demonstrated that scores tend to increase with increasing levels of training 4,23,27,28 …”

“…Over the last 10 years, research into the theoretical underpinnings and psychometric properties of script concordance has accumulated. The SCT has garnered interest for use in a wide and disparate array of health‐related fields 2–6 . In neurology, a call for a national initiative to promote script concordance assessment in undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes in Canada was recently sounded 7…”

Evaluation of Clinical Reasoning in Basic Emergencies Using a Script Concordance Test

“…17 Advantages of using the SCT are that it provides an indication of a student's clinical reasoning ability in real-life situations where there is uncertainty. 13,18,19 The objectives of this study were to develop and assess pharmacy students' clinical reasoning in basic emergency situations using the SCT.…”