Background: This study evaluated internal consistency and inter-rater reliability of the smoking cessation risk factor interview scale (SCRFIS).
Methods: Encounters from 16 patient instructors and 414 medical students were used for analyses: Cronbach's alpha and item-to-total correlations measured internal consistency; one-way analysis of variance evaluated comparability of scores across multiple raters, t-tests measured gender bias, and regression analyses compared student counseling skills across three curricula.
Results: The total scale was reliable, there was minimal gender bias, and student counseling skills remained relatively constant over time. Interviewing techniques, however, improved among students who participated in the curriculum that emphasized earliest patient contact.
Conclusion: A preliminary assessment of the measurement adequacy of the SCRFIS suggests that this instrument is a reliable measure of medical student's counseling skills on smoking cessation and is sensitive to changes in curriculum that emphasize patient contact. The SCRFIS may be applied in undergraduate medical curriculum, but it is advisable to evaluate the psychometric properties of this scale when used as an assessment of student performance.