Key Points
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Increasing emphasis is being placed on the development of authentic instruments for assessing the competence of health professionals.
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Patients offer a unique perspective for assessing aspects of competence in our health professionals.
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A patient assessment questionnaire (PAQ) has been developed which uses patient feedback to evaluate interpersonal skills of vocational dental practitioners in general practice.
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The PAQ fulfils criteria required of a robust assessment and has been viewed favourably by those directly involved in DVT in Scotland.
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The PAQ could potentially be adapted for use as an assessment tool within other arenas and dental disciplines.
Abstract
This paper describes a pilot study aimed at evaluating a new instrument, the patient assessment questionnaire (PAQ), which uses patient ratings for the assessment of communication skills and professionalism in vocational practitioners (VDPs). The PAQ was developed as part of an assessment system designed to address all round competence. Acohort of 99 VDPs took part in the study. Questionnaires were distributed to consecutive patients in the general dental service at two time points in the training year. Data from the pilot study was analysed to determine whether the PAQ fulfilled the criteria for robust assessment. Results provide evidence of high levels of reliability, validity and feasibility of the PAQ instrument. All indications to date suggest that the PAQ will prove to be a valuable assessment tool. It is currently being evaluated as part of the system used to assess the all round competence of dental graduates undertaking vocational training in Scotland.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank NHS Education for Scotland for funding the project, Dr R Elton for statistical analysis and advice throughout, Mr D Owens for data processing and Scottish VDPs, GP trainers, advisers and directors for their participation and valuable comments.
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Hurst, Y., Prescott-Clements, L. & Rennie, J. The patient assessment questionnaire: A new instrument for evaluating the interpersonal skills of vocational dental practitioners. Br Dent J 197, 497–500 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4811750
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4811750
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