Differences in medical student self-evaluations of clinical and professional skills

Abstract

Background: The skill of self-assessment is critical to medical students. We sought to determine whether there were differences between student self-assessments and their faculty assessments and if they were modified by gender. Additionally, we sought to determine the differences in these assessments between students in a traditional (core) versus an enhanced (SELECT) medical school curriculum. Methods: In this retrospective study, mid-term and final assessment and feedback forms from the first-year Doctoring 1 course were analyzed from three academic years: 2014–2015 through 2016–2017. Data were abstracted from the forms and de-identified for analysis. Class year, student gender, and class type were also abstracted from this “on the shelf” data from program assessment. The level of agreement between faculty and student assessments was investigated using Wilcoxon signed ranks test. The gender differences (male versus female students) between student assessments and their assessment by their faculty were investigated by using the Kruskal Wallis test. Results: Five hundred and thirty-five student self-assessments were analyzed. Fifty-six percent (301/535) were male while 44% (234/535) were female. Faculty assessments (P-value <0.001) were higher than students and this was not modified by student gender. Compared to the domain of “participation” in the core program, there was no difference between the student/faculty ratings based on student gender (P-value: 0.48); there was a difference in the SELECT program cohort (P-value: 0.02). Specifically, the female students appear to rate themselves lower (female student: mean/standard deviation: 2.07/0.52) compared to their faculty (faculty: mean/standard deviation: 2.42/0.55). Conclusion: Faculty consistently assessed the students at a higher rating than the students rated themselves. The level of difference between student self-assessments and their assessment by their faculty was not modified by student gender. With the minor exception of “participation,” there was no difference between students in the two different doctoring class curriculums.