Las habilidades de comunicación de los aspirantes a la certificación en Reumatología se asocian con su desempeño en el examen clínico objetivo estructurado / Communication skills in candidates for accreditation in rheumatology are correlated with candidate's performance in the objective structured clinical examination

Introducción: El Consejo Mexicano de Reumatología certifica anualmente reumatólogos mediante una prueba teórica y un examen clínico objetivo estructurado (ECOE). Desde el año 2015, se evalúan las habilidades de comunicación (HC) de los candidatos. Los objetivos fueron comparar las HC evaluadas por el paciente (HCP) y por el médico (HCM) y correlacionarlas con el desempeño de los candidatos en el ECOE. Material y métodos: Durante los años 2015, 2016 y 2017, se evaluaron las HC en las estaciones dinámicas, mediante una escala de Likert aplicada a 8 áreas. Pacientes y evaluadores fueron entrenados cada año para calificar a los aspirantes, lo cual se realizó el día del ECOE, de manera ciega, por ambos. Se calcularon coeficientes de correlación de Pearson. Resultados: En general, a lo largo de los 3años, los candidatos obtuvieron puntajes altos en las HC. Los pacientes puntuaron mejor a los candidatos que los evaluadores médicos. Las HCP y las HCM correlacionaron entre sí (de leve a moderado) en la mayoría de las estaciones. El puntaje de las HC de cada candidato correlacionó con su desempeño en la estación correspondiente; se encontraron mejores correlaciones con las HCP. El promedio de las HC de cada candidato correlacionó con el desempeño global en el ECOE, pero no así con la prueba teórica (salvo en el año 2017, cuando hubo una correlación baja). Conclusiones: Las HC evaluadas durante un examen de certificación en Reumatología correlacionan con el desempeño de cada candidato en cada estación y en el ECOE global

Background: The Mexican Accreditation Council for Rheumatology annually certifies trainees in Rheumatology using a multiple-choice test and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Since 2015, candidate's communication skills (CS) have been rated by both patients and by physician examiners and correlated with results on the OSCE. This study compared the CS from candidates to annual accreditation in Rheumatology as rated by patients and by physician examiners, and assessed whether these correlated with candidate's performance in the OSCE. Material and methods: From 2015 to 2017, 8areas of CS were evaluated using a Likert scale, in each OSCE station that involved a patient. Both patient and physician evaluators were trained annually and their evaluations were performed blindly. The associations were calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: In general, candidates were given high CS scores; the scores from patients of the candidate's CS were better than those of physician examiners; within the majority of the stations, both scores were found to correlate moderately. In addition, the scoring of CS correlated with trainee performance at the corresponding OSCE station. Interestingly, better correlations were found when the skills were rated by the patients compared to physician scores. The average CS score was correlated with the overall OSCE performance for each trainee, but not with the multiple-choice test, except in the 2017 accreditation process, when a weak correlation was found. Conclusions: CS assessed during a national accreditation process correlated with the candidate's performance at the station level and with the overall OSCE

Communication skills in candidates for accreditation in rheumatology are correlated with candidate's performance in the objective structured clinical examination. / Las habilidades de comunicación de los aspirantes a la certificación en Reumatología se asocian con su desempeño en el examen clínico objetivo estructurado.

BACKGROUND: The Mexican Accreditation Council for Rheumatology annually certifies trainees in Rheumatology using a multiple-choice test and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Since 2015, candidate's communication skills (CS) have been rated by both patients and by physician examiners and correlated with results on the OSCE. This study compared the CS from candidates to annual accreditation in Rheumatology as rated by patients and by physician examiners, and assessed whether these correlated with candidate's performance in the OSCE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From 2015 to 2017, 8areas of CS were evaluated using a Likert scale, in each OSCE station that involved a patient. Both patient and physician evaluators were trained annually and their evaluations were performed blindly. The associations were calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: In general, candidates were given high CS scores; the scores from patients of the candidate's CS were better than those of physician examiners; within the majority of the stations, both scores were found to correlate moderately. In addition, the scoring of CS correlated with trainee performance at the corresponding OSCE station. Interestingly, better correlations were found when the skills were rated by the patients compared to physician scores. The average CS score was correlated with the overall OSCE performance for each trainee, but not with the multiple-choice test, except in the 2017 accreditation process, when a weak correlation was found. CONCLUSIONS: CS assessed during a national accreditation process correlated with the candidate's performance at the station level and with the overall OSCE.