BACKGROUND: Non-English language fluency is increasingly important in patient care. Fluency self-assessment is easily obtained, but its accuracy is unknown. PURPOSES: The purpose is to determine accuracy of medical students' self-assessed Spanish fluency. METHODS: Four matriculating classes assessed their own oral fluency as ("none":"novice";"intermediate";"advanced";"native-speaker"). Participants who rated themselves greater than "novice" and who expressed interest in medical Spanish coursework took a standardized fluency test (Spoken Language Evaluation, scaled 1-12). Using predetermined test categories (1-5 = novice, 6-8 = intermediate, 9-12 = advanced/native), we determined the predictive value of self-assessment for predicting the same or greater fluency on the test. RESULTS: Of 102 participants, 12 (12%) tested below their self-assessed level, 77 (75%) tested at their self-assessed level, and 13 (13%) tested above. The predictive value of self-assessment for having at least that fluency level was 88% (95% CI = 80, 94). CONCLUSIONS: In medical students reporting greater than "novice" capability and interest in medical Spanish coursework, fluency self-assessment was a good indicator of scores on a standardized fluency test.
BACKGROUND: Non-English language fluency is increasingly important in patient care. Fluency self-assessment is easily obtained, but its accuracy is unknown. PURPOSES: The purpose is to determine accuracy of medical students' self-assessed Spanish fluency. METHODS: Four matriculating classes assessed their own oral fluency as ("none":"novice";"intermediate";"advanced";"native-speaker"). Participants who rated themselves greater than "novice" and who expressed interest in medical Spanish coursework took a standardized fluency test (Spoken Language Evaluation, scaled 1-12). Using predetermined test categories (1-5 = novice, 6-8 = intermediate, 9-12 = advanced/native), we determined the predictive value of self-assessment for predicting the same or greater fluency on the test. RESULTS: Of 102 participants, 12 (12%) tested below their self-assessed level, 77 (75%) tested at their self-assessed level, and 13 (13%) tested above. The predictive value of self-assessment for having at least that fluency level was 88% (95% CI = 80, 94). CONCLUSIONS: In medical students reporting greater than "novice" capability and interest in medical Spanish coursework, fluency self-assessment was a good indicator of scores on a standardized fluency test.
Authors: Melissa M Parker; Alicia Fernández; Howard H Moffet; Richard W Grant; Antonia Torreblanca; Andrew J Karter Journal: JAMA Intern Med Date: 2017-03-01 Impact factor: 21.873
Authors: Lisa Diamond; Sukyung Chung; Warren Ferguson; Javier Gonzalez; Elizabeth A Jacobs; Francesca Gany Journal: Med Care Date: 2014-05 Impact factor: 2.983