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The Situational Judgment Test (SJT) as an educational tool for professionalism development: outcomes and perceptions in first year medical students

Oral Presentation
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Oral Presentation

12:15 pm

28 February 2024

M212

Assessment of professionalism

Presentation Description

Lauren O'Mullane1
Naomi Staples1 and Deborah O'Mara2
1 University of Sydney Medical School
2 University of Sydney Medical School/ AMEE/ ANZAHPE 



Background:
The Sydney Medical Program (SMP) utilises a Situation Judgement Test (SJT) as part of professionalism assessment. Its use as a formative assessment as part of a programmatic assessment portfolio assists first year students understand their response to situationsthatariseinclinicalandeducationalsettings. CandidateperceptionsofmedicalSJTs are primarily focussed on its role in screening processes (Sharma, 2015; Takacs and Tracy, 2022), with little research exploring perceptions within a medical education context (Sahota et al., 2023). 


Summary:
Our study aimed to determine medical student outcomes and perceptions of SJT when used as an education tool. First year medical students from 2020-2023 (n=1140) undertookanonlineSJTcomprisingscenariosandappropriatenessratingresponseoptions. On completion of the SJT, linked voluntary feedback was obtained as open-ended comments (>90% response rate). Student SJT response scores and feedback underwent quantitative and thematic analysis, respectively. 


Results:
Student SJT outcomes and feedback will be presented over time. Student response scores were significantly different (p<0.05) when compared to an expert panel but were stable over time. Student sentiment towards the SJT was positive, mixed, and negative. Students recognised the benefit of being exposed to scenarios and gauging their responses. They also found the question format challenging, some believed the questions lacked nuance and some found the rating response options limiting. 


Discussion:
Lack of student professional experience may contribute to their perceptions of the SJT. 


Conclusions:
The stability of the SJT scores over time demonstrates the reliability of our SJT assessment. Student feedback provides evidence for the content validity of our SJT. 


Take home message:
Influence of experience will be explored in future research examining SJT performance and feedback in final year students. Improvements to SJT design and how it is used as an educational tool need to be considered. 



References (maximum three) 

Sahota G.S., Fisher V., Patel B., Juj K. and Taggar J.S. 2023. The educational value of situational judgement tests (SJTs) when used during undergraduate medical training: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Med Teach. pp 1-8. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2023.2168183 

Sharma M. 2015. Medical students' perceptions of the situational judgement test: a mixed methods study. Br J Hosp Med. 76:234-8. doi: 10.12968/hmed.2015.76.4.234. 

Takacs E.B. and Tracy C.R. 2022. Evaluating the Whole Applicant: Use of Situational Judgment Testing and Personality Testing to Address Disparities in Resident Selection. Curr Urol Rep. 23:308-318. doi: 10.1007/s11934-022-01115-8 

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