Assessing Competency in Serious Illness Communication: Development of a Rater Training Program

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions (08/15/25) Aluce, Laurie M.; Cooper, Julie J.; Emlet, Lillian L.; et al.

Researchers report on a method for conducting rater training for serious illness communication skills. They based their method on a previously published and validated tool for measuring serious illness communication skills, adjusting the program to focus on serious illness communication with patients and the special challenges involved. Five physicians, trained in communication skills assessment, evaluated eight test videos after completing the program. Their ratings showed substantial agreement with a gold standard rater, with an average kappa of 0.83 for checklist items and an average intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.83 for scaled items. This study presents an effective rater training method for assessing serious illness communication skills. The method builds upon a previous program for team performance, with adaptations including facilitated video discussions and iterative updates to the training guide. This approach ensures reliable communication skills assessment, the researchers report.

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