Diagnostic Scope

The VA-MeCo is a video-based Situational Judgement Test which assesses basic medical communication competence of medical students.

Procedure

The VA-MeCo comprises 11 test tasks, each with 3 - 5 answer options, in which the situational communication behaviour of the physicians presented is assessed at the dimensions of advancing content, structuring and establishing a good working relationship.

Background and Construction

The VA-MeCo is based on established standards of physician-patient communication (Calgary-Cambridge Guide, CanMeds Framework), and their implementation in the German National Competence-Based Catalogue of Learning Objectives (NKLM), as well as on a model of professional communication (Munich Model of Professional Conversation Competence).

Empirical Examination and Criteria

Reliability: The VA-MeCo is highly reliable (McDonald's Ω = .94 for the overall scale and for the three dimensions: ΩContent = .82, ΩStructure = .88 and ΩRelationship = .88).
Validity: The three dimensions were confirmed in a confirmatory factor analysis. Regarding construct validity, we could confirm a pattern of correlations with the constructs of patient orientation, empathy, prior knowledge/experience, intelligence, social competence as well as with the Big Five personality variables, which are mostly in line with expected associations.
Norms: A first proposal for a test norm derived from a sample with N = 395 medical students is available for usage.

Test Concept

Theoretical Background

see "Abstract"

First published in

• Reiser, S., Schacht, L., Thomm, E., Figalist, C., Janssen, L., Schick, K., Dörfler, E., Berberat, P. O., Gartmeier, M. & Bauer, J. (2021). A video-based situational judgment test for medical student's communication competence in patient encounters: Development and first evaluation. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(5), 1283-1289.

Downloads

• VA-MeCo Task 1 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 2 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 3 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 4 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 5 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 6 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 7 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 8 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 10 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 12 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo Task 14 (German) [WEBM]
• VA-MeCo instruction and items (German) [PDF]
• VA-MeCo test interpretation (German) [PDF]
• VA-MeCo SPSS syntax [PDF]
• VA-MeCo example item (German) [PDF]

Feedback form

Feedback on the use of a procedure from the Open Test Archive of the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) to the test author(s)