摘要：Background: The main objective of this study is the development of a short reliable easy-to-use assessment tool in
the aim of providing feedback to the reflective writings of medical students and residents.
Methods: This study took place in a major tertiary academic medical center in Beirut, Lebanon. Seventy-seven
reflective essays written by 18 residents in the department of Family Medicine at the American University of Beirut
Medical Center (AUBMC) were graded by 3 raters using the newly developed scale to assess the scale reliability.
Following a comprehensive search and analysis of the literature, and based on their experience in reflective
grading, the authors developed a concise 9-item scale to grade reflective essays through repeated cycles of
development and analysis as well as the determination of the inter-rater reliability (IRR) using intra-class correlation
coefficients (ICC) and Krippendorff’s Alpha.
Results: The inter-rater reliability of the new scale ranges from moderate to substantial with ICC of 0.78, 95% CI
0.64–0.86, p < 0.01 and Krippendorff’s Alpha was 0.49.
Conclusions: The newly developed scale, GRE-9, is a short, concise, easy-to-use reliable grading tool for reflective
essays that has demonstrated moderate to substantial inter-rater reliability. This will enable raters to objectively
grade reflective essays and provide informed feedback to residents and students.
