Usefulness of the script concordance test in dermatology.

Background: The script concordance test (SCT) measures clinical data interpretation in the context of uncertainty. To our knowledge, its feasibility has not yet been demonstrated in dermatology.

Objectives: This study describes the feasibility, reliability and validity of the SCT for use in dermatology teaching to family medicine residents.

Methods: We designed an SCT for dermatology teaching, adapted to the level of family medicine students. The family medicine residents attending a dermatology lecture course and a reference panel of dermatologists underwent the test. Software available on the SCT-dedicated website was used to determine the scores. The Cronbach's α was calculated. The scores were described by means, standard deviation, and minimum and maximum scores. Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare resident and reference panel scores.

Results: The test contained 33 vignettes of four questions each. Cronbach's α was 0.80. Mean scores were 75.6 for the reference panel and 65.0 for the residents (P = 0.0009).

Conclusions: This study confirmed the SCT's capacity to distinguish groups on the basis of experience. This study demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of the SCT in the field of dermatology.