Intersite consistency as a measurement of programmatic evaluation in a medicine clerkship with multiple, geographically separated sites

Purpose. This study introduces "intersite consistency" as a measurement of programmatic evaluation and demonstrates its feasibility and construct validity. Method. Student data in our multisite, geographically separated clerkship were collected prospectively over a ten-year period (1990-2000). We calculated mean scores for each clerkship measurement and analyzed these data on both a yearly and a 10-year cumulative basis. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression were used for statistical analysis. Results. Data for 1,632 (98%) students were included in our study. During this ten-year study period, we had 22 different on-site clerkship directors at seven clerkship sites. ANOVA and linear regression of year-to-year and cumulative data did not demonstrate an effect of site on student outcomes. Conclusions. Intersite consistency can be used as one measure of programmatic evaluation for multisite clerkships.