Analysis of psychometric properties of the modified SETQ tool in undergraduate medical education.

BACKGROUND: Effective clinical teaching is crucially important for the future of patient care. Robust clinical training therefore is essential to produce physicians capable of delivering high quality health care. Tools used to evaluate medical faculty teaching qualities should be reliable and valid. This study investigates the psychometric properties of modification of the System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ) instrument in the clinical years of undergraduate medical education. METHODS: This cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted in four teaching hospitals in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Two-hundred ninety-eight medical students were invited to evaluate 105 clinical teachers using the SETQ instrument between January 2015 and March 2015. Questionnaire feasibility was analyzed using average time required to complete the form and the number of raters required to produce reliable results. Instrument reliability (stability) was assessed by calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale and for each sub-scale (factor). To provide evidence of construct validity, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify which items on the survey belonged together, which were then grouped as factors. RESULTS: One-hundred twenty-five medical students completed 1161 evaluations of 105 clinical teachers. The response rates were 42% for student evaluations and 57% for clinical teacher self-evaluations. The factor analysis showed that the questionnaire was composed of six factors, explaining 76.7% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha was 0.94 or higher for the six factors in the student survey; for the clinical teacher survey, Cronbach's alpha was 0.88. In both instruments, the item-total correlation was above 0.40 for all items within their respective scales. CONCLUSION: Our modified SETQ questionnaire was found to be both reliable and valid, and was implemented successfully across various departments and specialties in different hospitals in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Role of Preoperative Briefing and Postoperative Debriefing in Surgical Education.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of a new preoperative briefing and postoperative debriefing tool on the perceived quality of surgical education and to assess attitudes of residents and attendings regarding this tool. DESIGN: Surrounding introduction and use of the tool (JHFIRE: Joint Huddles for Improving Resident Education), perceived quality of surgical education was assessed with pre- and postintervention System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ) surveys. Additionally, a postintervention Likert survey regarding the JHFIRE tool itself was completed by residents and faculty. SETTING: Johns Hopkins University Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, a tertiary care academic institution. PARTICIPANTS: All residents and attendings who used the tool were invited to participate. 40 participants (13 residents, 27 attendings) completed the preintervention SETQ. 11 participants (3 residents, 7 attendings, 1 unspecified) completed the postintervention SETQ. For postintervention qualitative assessment of the tool itself, 12 participants (3 residents, 7 attendings, 2 unspecified) provided feedback. RESULTS: The tool was well-received with large subjective benefit in improving resident surgical education. A total of 88% thought that the time spent on the debriefings was "just right" and 91% planned to make the debriefings a regular part of operative performance assessments. Despite this overwhelmingly positive feedback, there was no overall difference in pre- and postintervention SETQ scores for climate of surgical education in the Department (4.25 ± 0.55 vs. 4.10 ± 0.88, p = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of 4 item preoperative briefing and 4 item postoperative debriefing checklists was welcomed by both residents and faculty for its ability to shape surgical education in the operating room into a guided discovery model of hands-on education. Overall SETQ scores did not change, but most participants found value in the tool and plan to continue its use.

Development and validation of the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q) and its Short Form (SET-SF).

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that traumatic experiences from countries of origin (so-called pre-migratory factors), as well as stressors in countries of destination (so-called post-migratory factors), are related to the extent of mental health difficulties and psychological well-being of refugees. However, numerous risks that this population is exposed to during transit have so far been neglected. Objective: The aim of this research was to construct and validate a questionnaire for assessing stressful and traumatic experiences in transit as well as its short form, which would at the same time provide information on one's stressful experiences as well as existing risks that refugees are exposed to on their journey. Method: The study was realized in three phases - item construction, item revision and instrument validation. In the validation phase, a total of 226 refugees completed the Stressful Experiences in Transit Questionnaire (SET-Q), along with Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) Parts I and IV, Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and Beck Depression Inventory - II (BDI-II). Results: Refugees were exposed to an average of 13 stressful events during transit. SET-Q total score was positively correlated with HTQ Part IV Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Self-Perception of Functioning scales (SPFS) while the number of stressful experiences with the local population was positively related to BDI-II depression symptoms. Moreover, SET-Q scores were significant predictors of PTSD and SPFS even after traumatic experiences in the country of origin, assessed by HTQ Part I, were taken into account. A short form of the questionnaire (SET-SF) has also been developed. Conclusions: SET-Q is a valid instrument for measuring the scope of stressful experiences refugees have been exposed to during transit, targeted for this population specifically. Furthermore, SET-SF has the potential to assess the same extent of stressful experiences with a significantly reduced number of items.

Antecedentes: estudios previos han demostrado que las experiencias traumáticas de los países de origen (los llamados factores pre-migratorios), así como los factores estresantes en los países de destino (los llamados factores post-migratorios) están relacionados con el grado de dificultades en salud mental y el bienestar psicológico de los refugiados. Sin embargo, numerosos riesgos a los que esta población está expuesta durante el tránsito han sido hasta ahora desatendidos.Objetivo: El objetivo de esta investigación fue construir y validar un cuestionario para evaluar las experiencias estresantes y traumáticas del tránsito migratorio, así como una forma abreviada, que pueda proporcionar información sobre las experiencias estresantes, así como los riesgos a los que están expuestos los refugiados en su viaje.Método: El estudio se realizó en tres fases: construcción de ítems, revisión de ítems y validación del instrumento. En la fase de validación, un total de 226 refugiados completaron el Cuestionario de Experiencias Estresantes en Tránsito (SET-Q), junto con el Cuestionario de Trauma de Harvard (HTQ) partes I y IV, la Lista de Chequeo de Síntomas de Hopkins-25 (HSCL-25) y el Inventario de Depresión de Beck - II (BDI-II).Resultados: Los refugiados estuvieron expuestos a un promedio de 13 eventos estresantes durante el tránsito. La puntuación total de SET-Q se correlacionó positivamente con la parte IV del HTQ que evalúa el trastorno por estrés postraumático (PTSD) y las escalas de autopercepción del funcionamiento (SPFS), mientras que el número de experiencias estresantes con la población local se relacionó positivamente con los síntomas de depresión evaluados con el BDI-II. Además, las puntuaciones SET-Q fueron predictores significativos de trastorno de estrés postraumático y la autopercepción de funcionamiento, incluso después de las experiencias traumáticas en el país de origen, evaluadas por HTQ Parte I, que se tuvo en cuenta. También se ha desarrollado una forma corta del cuestionario (SET-SF).Conclusiones: SET-Q es un instrumento válido para medir el alcance de las experiencias estresantes a las que los refugiados han estado expuestos durante el tránsito, específicamente para esta población. Además, la forma abreviada tiene el potencial de evaluar el mismo grado de experiencias estresantes con un número significativamente menor de items.