The face validity of a final professional clinical examination

Objective To develop new methods of evaluating face validity in the context of a revised final professional examination for medical undergraduates, or ganized on three sites, over 2 days. Methods The opinion of the students and examiners was surveyed by Likert-st yle questionnaires, with additional open comments. Expert opinion was gathe red from external examiner reports and a recent Quality Assurance Agency (Q AA) Subject Review Report. Results The questionnaires had an overall response rate of 84%. Internal re liability, assessed by comparing responses to appropriate questions, was go od with an equivalence of 45% (weighted kappa 0.54) for the students and 33 % (weighted kappa 0.41) for the assessors. There was little evidence of inc onsistency between days or sites. The majority of the opinions from the stu dents, examiners and external experts were positive. Negative comments rela ted to time pressure and case mix. Conclusion The measurement of face validity proved feasible and valuable an d will assist in the further development of the course and the examination.