Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of the Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire in Bahrain

OBJECTIVES: The Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire (MCTQ) was developed to evaluate clinical teachers’ supervisory skills during undergraduate clinical rotations. Evidence exists supporting the reliability and validity of this questionnaire. Our study sought to examine the reliability and validity of the MCTQ in a Middle Eastern context. METHODS: Between 2016 and 2017, we evaluated a total of 549 medical students in their final year who were undergoing clinical rotations using the MCTQ. The construct validity was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency reliability was measured using Cronbach’s alpha. Factor scores were compared with other outcomes to explore the relationship with other relevant variables. RESULTS: A four-factor model demonstrated an adequate fit with the data. The findings showed good internal consistency reliability. The following results were obtained for the four-factor model: chi-square divided by degrees of freedom was 5.026, and the comparative index, goodness of fit index, normalized fit index, and non-normalized fit index were all above 0.800 (0.955, 0.858, 0.950, and 0.952, respectively). The standardized root mean square residual was 0.016, and the root mean square error of approximation score was 0.086. Acceptable reliability was achieved with 10 evaluations per teacher. We observed a strong correlation between factors and overall judgment. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the MCTQ is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate teachers’ performance during clinical rotations in Bahrain.