Resident Practice Audit in Gastroenterology (RPAGE): an innovative approach to trainee evaluation and professional development in medicine

BACKGROUND: The Resident Practice Audit in Gastroenterology (RPAGE) captures assessments of knowledge, professionalism, and technical skills, in real time. This brief report describes this innovative instrument and aspects of its utility. METHODS: Assessment data on colonoscopy, endoscopy, and sigmoidoscopy procedures in 2016 were submitted to a repeated measures ANOVA with six within subjects’ assessments and one between subjects’ factor of year of specialization to evaluate construct validity. The validity hypothesis tested was that more experienced residents would be rated higher than less experienced residents. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. RESULTS: The proportion of completed assessments was relatively low (9 to 22%). Overall reliability was high (α >0.8). There was evidence of validity as global ratings indicated higher competence for senior residents at colonoscopy (1.6) and upper endoscopy (1.4) than for more junior residents (1.9 and 2.1 respectively). These differences were significant for both colonoscopy, (F (1, 282) = 14.8, p <0.001) and endoscopy, F (1, 136) = 56.9, p <0.001. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest RPAGE is an acceptable electronic log of practice data, but may not be acceptable for workplace based assessment. A key next step will be to evaluate how information collected through RPAGE can help inform resident competency committees.