Rakofsky JJ, Talbot TB, Dunlop BW. A Virtual Standardized Patient-Based Assessment Tool to Evaluate Psychiatric Residents' Psychopharmacology Proficiency.
ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY : THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF DIRECTORS OF PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENCY TRAINING AND THE ASSOCIATION FOR ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY 2020;
44:693-700. [PMID:
32681418 PMCID:
PMC7367158 DOI:
10.1007/s40596-020-01286-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
A virtual standardized patient-based assessment simulator was developed to address biases and practical limitations in existing methods for evaluating residents' proficiency in psychopharmacological knowledge and practice.
METHODS
The simulator was designed to replicate an outpatient psychiatric clinic experience. The virtual patient reported symptoms of a treatment-resistant form of major depressive disorder (MDD), requiring the learner to use various antidepressants in order for the patient to fully remit. Test scores were based on the proportion of correct responses to questions asked by the virtual patient about possible side effects, dosing, and titration decisions, which depended upon the patient's tolerability and response to the learner's selected medications. The validation paradigm included a novice-expert performance comparison across 4th year medical students, psychiatric residents from all four post-graduate year classes, and psychiatry department faculty, and a correlational analysis of simulator performance with the PRITE Somatic Treatments subscale score. Post-test surveys evaluated the test takers' subjective impressions of the simulator.
RESULTS
Forty-three subjects completed the online exam and survey. Total mean scores on the exam differed significantly across all the learner groups in a step-wise manner from students to faculty (F = 6.10, p = 0.0001). Total mean scores by residency class correlated with PRITE Somatic Therapies subscale scores (p < 0.01). The post-test survey mean Likert results ranged from 3.33 ± 1.20 to 4.4 ± 0.79, indicating neutral to favorable responses for use of the simulator.
CONCLUSIONS
This simulator demonstrated strong construct validity and high participant acceptability for assessing proficiency in the psychopharmacologic treatment of MDD.
Collapse