Utilisation, Reliability and Validity of Clinical Evaluation Exercise in Otolaryngology Training

Objectives To investigate the utilisation, reliability and validity of clinical evaluation exercise (CEX) in otolaryngology training. Design Retrospective database analysis. Setting Online assessment database. Participants We analysed all CEXs submitted by north London core (CT) and speciality trainees (ST) in otolaryngology from 2010 to 2013. Main Outcome Measures Internal consistency of the 7 CEX items rated as either O: outstanding, S: satisfactory or D: development required. Overall performance rating (pS) of 1–4 assessed against completion of training level. Receiver operating characteristic was used to describe CEX sensitivity and specificity. Overall score (cS), pS and the number of ‘D’-rated items were used to investigate construct validity. Results One thousand one hundred and sixty CEXs from 45 trainees were included. CEX showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha= 0.85). CEX was highly sensitive (99%), yet not specific (6%). cS and pS for ST was higher than CT (99.1% ± 0.4 versus 96.6% ± 0.8 and 3.06 ± 0.05 versus 1.92 ± 0.04, respectively P