Impact of task-based checklist scoring and two domains global rating scale in objective structured clinical examination of pharmacy students

Abstract

Introduction: Global ratings are station-independent scales identifying general areas of competence, such as communication, rapport and similar constructs that may not be well captured in a checklist item. Global ratings seem to have psychometric possessions that are as noble as or healthier than those of checklists, whether used in conjunction with a checklist scoring system or on their own. Methods: This was a retrospective study. The results of second year pharmacy students’ end of semester froma private University in Malaysia have been used. Results: There were 164 participating students. There was a significant positive Pearson correlation between the two scales (p<0.05); however R2 value was not satisfactory. The R2 coefficient is the proportional change in the dependent variable (checklist score) due to change in the independent variable (global grade). This allowed us to determine the degree of linearity between the checklist score and the global rating score for each station, with the expectation that higher global ratings should generally correspond with higher checklist scores. Conclusion: Since the global rating scale exactly represents the overall criterion in the checklists, the reasons for the unsatisfactory correlation may be due to improper standardization of global scale and checklist among markers or poor understanding of criteria to use in the global rating system. It is mandatory to re-look on the mentioned problems as well as re-writing the stations or checklists or criteria for global rating.