Factor Structure of the Resident Evaluation Form

Abstract

The Resident Evaluation Form (REF) was developed to assess resident physicians' clinical performance. This research sought to empirically evaluate the intuitively derived REF scales representing four substantive areas of clinical performance: interpersonal ability, cognitive ability, clinical skills, and professional attributes. Peer and supervisor ratings using the REF were rendered on a sample of 183 resident physicians in three primary care specialties. Principal axis factor analysis was performed to ascertain the underlying structure of the REF items. The analysis yielded two factors for both peer and supervisor raters: (a) cognitive abilities and (b) interpersonal skills. Hypothesized clinical skills items loaded on the cognitive abilities factor, while professional attributes items had complex loadings. The results support two of the four REF substantive area scales that were originally proposed.