| Title |
Medical student and junior doctors’ tolerance of ambiguity: development of a new scale
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Advances in Health Sciences Education, May 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10459-014-9510-z |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Jason Hancock, Martin Roberts, Lynn Monrouxe, Karen Mattick |
| Abstract |
The practice of medicine involves inherent ambiguity, arising from limitations of knowledge, diagnostic problems, complexities of treatment and outcome and unpredictability of patient response. Research into doctors' tolerance of ambiguity is hampered by poor conceptual clarity and inadequate measurement scales. We aimed to create and pilot a measurement scale for tolerance of ambiguity in medical students and junior doctors that addresses the limitations of existing scales. After defining tolerance of ambiguity, scale items were generated by literature review and expert consultation. Feedback on the draft scale was sought and incorporated. 411 medical students and 75 foundation doctors in Exeter, UK were asked to complete the scale. Psychometric analysis enabled further scale refinement and comparison of scale scores across subgroups. The pilot study achieved a 64% response rate. The final 29 item version of the Tolerance of Ambiguity in Medical Students and Doctors (TAMSAD) scale had good internal reliability (Cronbach's α 0.80). Tolerance of ambiguity was higher in foundation year 2 doctors than first, third and fourth year medical students (-5.23, P = 0.012; -5.98, P = 0.013; -4.62, P = 0.035, for each year group respectively). The TAMSAD scale offers a valid and reliable alternative to existing scales. Further work is required in different settings and in longitudinal studies but this study offers intriguing provisional insights. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 6 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2 | 33% |
| France | 1 | 17% |
| Australia | 1 | 17% |
| Canada | 1 | 17% |
| Unknown | 1 | 17% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Scientists | 4 | 67% |
| Members of the public | 2 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 123 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 122 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 16 | 13% |
| Other | 13 | 11% |
| Researcher | 11 | 9% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 10 | 8% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 10 | 8% |
| Other | 40 | 33% |
| Unknown | 23 | 19% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 38 | 31% |
| Social Sciences | 14 | 11% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 11 | 9% |
| Psychology | 10 | 8% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 6 | 5% |
| Other | 14 | 11% |
| Unknown | 30 | 24% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 15. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 October 2021.
All research outputs
#2,228,922
of 24,149,630 outputs
Outputs from Advances in Health Sciences Education
#76
of 910 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#22,535
of 230,485 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Advances in Health Sciences Education
#3
of 16 outputs
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So far Altmetric has tracked 910 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.6. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its peers.
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