Can Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise Scores Predict Medical Residency Performance? Validity Evidence Across Five Longitudinal Cohorts

PURPOSEThe residency admissions process is a high-stakes assessment system with the purpose of identifying applicants who best meet standards of the residency program and the medical specialty. Prior studies have found that professionalism issues contribute significantly to residents in difficulty during training. This study examines the reliability (internal structure) and predictive (relations to other variables) validity evidence for a standardized patient (SP)-based Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX) using longitudinal data from pediatrics candidates from admission to the end of the first year of postgraduate training. METHODData from 5 cohorts from 2012 to 2016 (195 invited applicants) were analyzed from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) Pediatrics Residency Program. Generalizability theory was used to examine the reliability and variance components of the P-MEX scores, gathered across 3 cases. Correlations and mixed-effects regression analyses were used to examine the predictive utility of SP-based P-MEX scores (gathered as part of the admissions process) with rotation evaluation scores (obtained during the first year of residency). RESULTSGeneralizability was moderate (G coefficient = 0.52). Regression analyses predicting P-MEX scores to first-year rotation evaluations indicated significant standardized effect sizes for attitude and personality (β = 0.36, P = .02), global evaluation (β = 0.27, P = .048), and total evaluation scores (β = 0.34, P = .04). CONCLUSIONSValidity evidence supports the use of P-MEX scores as part of the admissions process to assess professionalism. P-MEX scores provide a snapshot of an applicant’s level of professionalism and may predict performance during the first year of residency.