Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:521-524
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Training directors' opinions about the psychiatry resident in-training examination (PRITE)
LC Webb, S Sexson, J Scully, CF Reynolds 3d and MF Shore
American College Testing, Iowa City, IA 52243.
OBJECTIVE: The American College of Psychiatrists conducted research to
validate the content outline of the Psychiatry Resident In-Training
Examination (PRITE) and to assess what residency training directors think
about the examination. METHOD: A mail survey was sent to the 218 psychiatry
residency training directors who subscribe to the PRITE. RESULTS: The
survey response rate was 70%. A majority of the respondents indicated
agreement with the relative emphasis given to each content area in the
PRITE (range = 52%-80% agreement). Eighty-one percent of the respondents
were strongly in favor of continuing the practice of releasing the
examination and the correct responses each year after the examinations have
been scored. The majority of the respondents use results on the PRITE for
individual resident evaluation and program evaluation (90% and 94%,
respectively). Very few respondents use the PRITE results as the sole
measure for assessing residents' cognitive competence or use it for
marketing their residency programs. CONCLUSIONS: The survey provided strong
support for the content areas covered in the PRITE and their relative
emphases. The current practice of releasing PRITE items and answers (a main
difference between the PRITE and the certification examination of the
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology) was well supported by the
survey results. The stated purpose of the PRITE, to provide educationally
useful feedback for individuals and groups in the form of comparisons with
peers in specific areas of knowledge, was supported by a large majority of
the respondents.
