Motivational Consequences that Affect the Timeliness and Candidness of Resident Evaluations

Motivational factors that undermine the willingness of raters to be timely and candid in their evaluation of residents has not been well studied. According to expectancy theory, this motivation stems from perceptions regarding the likelihood and desirability of various consequences associated with those actions.The aim of this initial investigation is to identify the range of positive andnegative consequences that might drive a rater’s motivation toward or away from being timely and candid when completing resident evaluations. Methods: This was an exploratory descriptive investigation using semi-structured interviews with nine physician faculty at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Faculty were asked to describe the potential consequences of being timely (or not) and being candid (or not) in their resident evaluations. The consequences described by respondents were analyzed using a thematic coding process. Results: A range of consequences were identified including personal-related (e.g., a sense of fulfilling one’s role obligations); resident-related (e.g., affecting self-confidence); and institution-related (e.g., chances of renewed accreditation). Conclusions: The range of potential consequences identified in this investigation shines a light on the motivational factors that should be considered with regards to rater timeliness and candidness and providesthe necessary information for the next step: the development of a tool for assessing raters’ perceptions of the like lihood and desirability of each consequence in a specific rating context.