Journal Article

Comparing Traditional Versus Retrospective Pre-/Post-assessment in an Interdisciplinary Leadership Training Program

Graybill, Emily, Truscott, Stephen D, Baumann, Stephanie D, Wells, Rebecca, Roach, Andrew, Crimmins, Daniel, Crenshaw, Mark, Thomas, Erin Vinoski

2019

Overview

Objectives As the U.S. healthcare system shifts toward collaboration, demand for leaders with interdisciplinary skills increases. Leadership competencies guide interdisciplinary training programs; however, identifying cost-effective methods for evaluating leadership competencies is challenging, particularly when interdisciplinary trainees have different areas of expertise and professional goals. Traditional pre-/post-testing, a common method for evaluating leadership competencies, is subject to response-shift bias, which can occur when participants’ understanding of a construct changes between pre- and post-test. As a result, participants may rate their knowledge of the construct lower at post-test. Retrospective pre-tests are one method thought to reduce response-shift bias in pre-/post-tests. The current study explores the use of a retrospective pre-test to control for response-shift bias in an interdisciplinary training program. Methods Over three cohort years, thirty-four trainees from an interdisciplinary leadership program completed a self-assessment aligned with MCH leadership competencies. The traditional pre-test self-assessment was completed at the beginning of the training program. The retrospective pre-/post-test self-assessment was completed at the end of the training program. Results Retrospective pre/post-test scores indicate significant self-reported increases in all 24 leadership areas (p ≤ .001). Furthermore, participants’ self-ratings were significantly higher on the traditional pre-test for all 24 areas than on the retrospective pre-test (p ≤ .001). Conclusions for Practice Retrospective pre-tests appeared to control for response-shift bias and may be a cost-effective way to evaluate trainee change within an interdisciplinary leadership program. These findings suggest the methodology’s usefulness in interdisciplinary training and its potential use in the broader world of community-based MCH training initiatives.

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Bias / Interdisciplinary aspects / Leadership training / Self evaluation / Training