Development of a self-reported clinical decision-making competence scale for medical students
IRISH JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11845-026-04589-4
- Dergi Adı: IRISH JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest)
- Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background Clinical decision-making (CDM) is a multifaceted competency encompassing cognitive, ethical, and interpersonal dimensions. Despite its importance in medical education, there remains a lack of psychometrically sound instruments for assessing medical students' self-reported clinical decision-making competence. Aim To develop and validate a Self-Reported Clinical Decision-Making Competence Scale for clinical-phase medical students. Methods A methodological scale-development study was conducted with 243 clinical-phase medical students at Karadeniz Technical University. An initial 30-item pool was generated through a literature review and expert consultation. Following expert review, a 27-item Likert-type scale was finalized and administered online. Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis with robust estimation, the Robust MORGANA approach, and PROMIN rotation. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients. Results Exploratory factor analysis supported an essentially unidimensional structure explaining 57.6% of the total variance. Factor loadings ranged from 0.44 to 0.85, and model fit indices demonstrated excellent fit. Item discrimination was high across all items (Cohen's d = 1.30-3.18; p < .001). Reliability was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.971; McDonald's omega = 0.973), supporting the internal consistency of the instrument. Conclusion The 27-item Self-Reported Clinical Decision-Making Competence Scale demonstrated strong psychometric properties and provides a standardized self-report instrument for assessing medical students' clinical decision-making competence. The scale is intended to complement, rather than replace, performance-based assessment methods within competency-based medical education.