Communication Skills Assessment Taskforce
Top Photo: Attendees at the Communications Skills Rapid Blueprinting meeting in June.
Several major developments highlight the recent work of ICVA’s Communication Skills Assessment Taskforce. Chaired by Dr. Cindy Adams, the volunteers in the group continue in their efforts to develop assessments to evaluate the communication skills needed in the veterinary field.
Research Article Published
Validity evidence for communication skills assessment in health professions education: a scoping review, an article detailing the ICVA Communication Skills Assessment Taskforce’s recently-completed scoping review, has been accepted for publication by the British Medical Association’s Journal BMJ Open. Authored by Drs. Linda Dorrestein, Caroline Ritter, Zoë De Mol, Maureen Wichtel, Julie Cary, Courtney Vengrin, Elpida Artemiou, Cindy Adams, Heather Ganshorn, Jason Coe, H. Barkema, and Kent Hecker, the paper delves into the enormous amount of work done to gather evidence regarding communication skills assessment methods that could be used in different testing environments. After an initial screening of over 17,000 research articles, the team focused on 146 studies (covering over 98,000 participants), identified gaps in the sources of validity evidence related to assessment method, and suggested ways to address these issues in future studies.
“The publication of this article in such a prestigious international journal is gratifying because it really demonstrates the exceptional quality of work being done by ICVA’s Communication Skills Assessment Taskforce,” Dr. Adams explained. “On top of that, the article is a tremendous contribution to the assessment field because it provides avenues for future research.”
Rapid Blueprinting Exercises Conducted
Following the group’s scoping review, the Communication Skills Assessment Taskforce is proceeding with the development of a “blueprint” for possible future assessments of communication skills. A meeting of experts in veterinary communications education initiating the rapid blueprinting exercises was conducted at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) in Philadelphia, PA on June 10–11. This is one of the initial steps in the development of an assessment blueprint.
Assessment Survey Completed
Furthering the development process, the next phase was to conduct a broader survey of experts across American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA-COE) accredited schools.
The survey, distributed through the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) and NBME to a specifically-selected group of veterinary communication experts, focused on reviewing the results from the June meeting. Survey participants were asked to provide their feedback on the major areas and specific components of communications competency identified in the initial meeting. The survey responses were then analyzed and reviewed. The results are now being incorporated into a “final” version of the blueprint.