Creation of a Novel Digital Rectal Examination Evaluation Instrument to Teach and Assess Prostate Examination Proficiency.

Publication/Presentation Date

1-1-2018

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To create a validated tool to measure digital rectal examination proficiency and aid with teaching of the examination.

DESIGN: The Digital Rectal Examination Clinical Tool was created using a modified Delphi method with 5 urologists and 5 radiation oncologists. The instrument was then validated in a population of preclinical medical students examining male urological teaching associates, and clinical trainees (third- and fourth-year medical students and urology resident physicians) examining prospectively enrolled subjects. Trainees completed paired examinations with an attending urologist, and responses were scored with reference to the attending responses.

SETTING: The instrument was validated at the University of Virginia in the urology clinic, endoscopic operating room, and main operating room settings.

PARTICIPANTS: We tested the instrument on consenting subjects consisting of male urologic teaching associates (n = 12), clinic patients (n = 4), and operating room patients (n = 64). The participants were undergraduate (n = 302) and graduate (n = 9) medical trainees.

RESULTS: In preclerkship trainees, improved scores in subjects without abnormal compared to those with abnormal findings demonstrated validity. In clinical trainees, scores on the Digital Rectal Examination Clinical Tool increased by 2% for each additional year of training, demonstrating construct validity.

CONCLUSIONS: We used an expert panel to create a novel instrument for measuring digital rectal examination proficiency and validated it with preclinical and clinical trainee cohorts at our institution.

Volume

75

Issue

2

First Page

434

Last Page

441

ISSN

1878-7452

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

28923535

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article

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