Establishment and preliminary application of the Mini-FERO form for formative evaluation in the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To establish the first Mini-Formative Evaluation of Radiation Oncology (Mini-FERO) scale in China and evaluate its preliminary application value in the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians.Methods:Based on the educational curriculum and examination requirements for the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians, as well as the standardized Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) scale commonly used in clinical practice, the Mini-Formative Evaluation of Radiation Oncology (Mini-FERO) scale was developed to facilitate the standardized training for resident physicians in the field of radiation oncology. In this prospective study, a randomization method using a random number table was employed to select a cohort of 26 resident physicians who completed their rotations in Department of Radiation Oncology at the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from March 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021. The Mini-FERO scale was administered in the initial, middle, and final stages during the rotation period. The differences in evaluation scores before and after the assessments were analyzed by paired t-test. Furthermore, participating resident physicians and supervising teachers provided satisfaction ratings, and a comprehensive evaluation of the Mini-FERO scale was conducted. Results:The average scores of the three examinations of 26 resident physicians demonstrated a successive improvement, with individual performance in each assessed category also showing progressive enhancement. The second evaluation exhibited a more pronounced score increase compared to the first evaluation, with a mean improvement of (1.43±1.02) points ( t=7.13, P<0.001); while the third evaluation had a mean improvement of (0.41±0.50) points ( t=4.07, P<0.001) compaired to the second evaluation, with a mean difference of (1.02±1.15) points between the two ( t=4.53, P<0.001). The average time required for the assessments was (34.31±24.46) min. Overall satisfaction ratings from the evaluated resident physicians for the Mini-FERO scale were (8.42±0.85) points, and supervising teachers reported an overall satisfaction rating of (8.45±0.85) points. The satisfaction rate was 96% (25/26). Conclusions:In this study, the Mini-FERO scale was successfully developed and validated in the context of clinical teaching practice for radiation oncology resident physicians. The Mini-FERO scale is proven to be a feasible tool for assessing the gradual improvement of resident physicians throughout their learning process in the field of radiation oncology. Importantly, it offers the advantages of short assessment time, thereby avoiding additional burden on supervising teachers. The adoption of the Mini-FERO scale addresses current limitations of lacking of formative evaluation in the standardized training for radiation oncology resident physicians.