Objectives: The implementation of competency-based evaluations increases the emphasis on in-training assessment. The Consultation Letter Rating Scale (CLRS), published by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, is a tool that assesses written-communication competencies. This multisite project evaluated the tool's validity, reliability, feasibility, and acceptability for use in postgraduate geriatric medicine training.
Methods: Geriatric medicine trainees provided consultation letters from the 2017-2018 academic year. Geriatricians reviewed a standardized module and completed the tool for all the deidentified letters. The reviewers recorded the time used to complete the tool for each letter and completed a survey on content validity. Trainees completed a survey on the tool's usefulness. Responses were reviewed independently by two authors for thematic content. The unweighted and the weighted κ were used to measure interrater reliability.
Results: A total of 10 of 11 (91%) eligible trainees each provided five letters that were reviewed independently by six geriatricians, leading to a total of 300 assessments. A very small portion (4% [N = 12]) of assessments was incomplete. An average of 4.82 minutes (standard deviation = 3.17) was used to complete the tool. There was high interrater agreement for overall scores, with a multiple-rater weighted κ of 83% (95% confidence interval = 76%-89%). The interrater agreement was lower for the individual components. Both raters and trainees found the comments more useful than the numerical ratings.
Conclusions: Our results support the use of the CLRS for facilitating feedback on the quality of consult letters to improve written-communication competencies among geriatric medicine trainees. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:2157-2160, 2019.
Keywords: assessment tool; communication; competency-based education; postgraduate education.
© 2019 The American Geriatrics Society.