Assessing and Documenting the Cognitive Performance of Family Medicine Residents Practicing Outpatient Medicine

Abstract

Abstract Background Development of cognitive skills for competent medical practice is a goal of residency education. Cognitive skills must be developed for many different clinical situations. Innovation We developed the Resident Cognitive Skills Documentation (CogDoc) as a method for capturing faculty members' real-time assessment of residents' cognitive performance while they precepted them in a family medicine office. The tool captures 3 dimensions of cognitive skills: medical knowledge, understanding, and its application. This article describes CogDoc development, our experience with its use, and its reliability and feasibility. Methods After development and pilot-testing, we introduced the CogDoc at a single training site, collecting all completed forms for 14 months to determine completion rate, competence development over time, consistency among preceptors, and resident use of the data. Results Thirty-eight faculty members completed 5021 CogDoc forms, documenting 29% of all patient visits by 33 resi...