Selecting graduates for the interns’ award by using multisource feedback process: does it work?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to find a reliable method for choosing graduates for a higher-education award. One such method that has achieved notable popularity is known as multisource feedback. Multisource feedback is assessment tool that uses evaluations of different groups and includes both physicians and non-physicians. It is useful for assessing several domains, including professionalism, communication and collaboration, and therefore is a valuable tool for providing a well-rounded selection of the top interns for postsecondary awards. 16 graduates in Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain) responded to an invitation to participate in the student award, which was conducted by the using the multisource feedback process. 5 individuals from different categories (physicians, nurses, and fellow students), rated each participant in this study. A total of 15 individuals were the proposed number for rating. The ratings were calculated using mean and standard deviation, and the award went to the one of the top score out of the 16 participants. Reliability and internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach’s coefficient, and construct validity was evaluated using factor analysis. RESULTS: 16 graduates participated in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Bahrain interns’ award based on the multisource feedback process, giving us a 16.5% response rate. The instrument was found to be suitable for factor analysis and showed 3 factor solutions representing 79.3% of the total variance. Reliability analysis using Cronbach’s α reliability of internal consistency indicated that the full scale of the instrument had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α 0.98). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed our hypothesis, finding multisource feedback to be a process for choosing the most suitable graduates for interns’ awards that is both reliable and valid. Unfortunately, there were low response rate, which could mean that multisource feedback is not a realistic way to bring most students into the process.