Keywords

Clinical Evaluation, Clinical Reasoning, Gut Feeling, Instrument Development, Learning Contracts, Struggling Students

 

Authors

  1. El Hussein, Mohamed
  2. McLarnon, Matthew
  3. Fast, Olive

Abstract

AIM: The aim of this study was to psychometrically test a clinical evaluation tool that measures instructors' gut feelings for placing students on a learning contract.

 

BACKGROUND: Evaluators feel unprepared or hesitant to fail students who do not meet professional and clinical expectations.

 

METHOD: A multiphase process was used to determine the reliability and validity of the Gut Feelings Scale. The first phase focused on item generation, the second phase focused on content validity and feedback from expert raters, and the third phase focused on psychometric evaluation to streamline the item pool and explore validity.

 

RESULTS: Correlations and descriptive statistics for each subscale were calculated. Reliability analyses revealed relatively strong estimates of internal consistency; specifically, the reliability estimates surpassed our criteria of >.70.

 

CONCLUSION: This pilot study established the validity and reliability of the scale and found it to be a reliable tool to guide instructors' evaluative decision-making.