The ECFMG® Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA®)was developed to evaluate whether graduates of international medical schools (IMGs)
are ready to enter graduate training programs in the United States. The patient note (PN) exercise, conducted after a 15-minute
interview with a standardized patient (SP), is specifically used to assess a candidate's ability to summarize and synthesize
the data collected. On a yearly basis, approximately 75,000 patient notes are reviewed and scored by physician raters. Recent
changes to the PN scoring rubric, combined with enhancements to quality assurance procedures, mandate that additional evidence
be provided to support the intended use of PN scores. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the psychometric
adequacy of PN scores. Generalizability analyses suggest that while variability in PN rating scan be attributed to the choice
of rater, candidate scores are reproducible over the 10-encounter CSA. The relationship of PN scores with other related ability
measures and select candidate characteristics provides additional evidence to support the validity of the written exercise.
certification tests - reliability - standardized patient - validity - written communication
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.