Evaluation of One-Day Multiple-Choice Question Workshop for Anesthesiology Faculty Members

Abstract

Background: Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are used commonly to evaluate medical health students. Most novice educators tend to create poor quality, flawed, and low-cognitive-level questions. Therefore, there is a need for educating the assessors to maximize the quality of MCQs and evaluations. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a one-day MCQ workshop on anesthesiology faculty members. Methods: Faculty members were invited to participate in a four-hour, one-day MCQ workshop. At the beginning of the workshop, the participants were questioned about their knowledge about MCQ quality indexes and also were asked about MCQ general principles (pre-test). Participants were again asked about the questions which they had in the pre-test as their post-test and were questioned about their expectations and the influence of this workshop. Results: The participants declared that their expectations were fulfilled (9.4 ± 0.6 out of 10), and the course was applicable (9.7 ± 0.7 out of 10). Before the workshop, only 12.5% of the participants know MCQ indicators. This rate increased to 41% after the workshop (P < 0.05). Also, they were questioned about Millman’s checklist for the MCQ examination. Participants’ correct answers were increased from 2.75 to 3.05 out of four (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Although previous participation in MCQ training courses did not demonstrate an increase in knowledge and attitude, it could be theorized that short-term repetition would yield better results.