Development, Implementation and Initial Evaluation of the Blueprint for MBBS Theory Exams in a Private Medical College of Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51985/JBUMDC2024433Keywords:
Blueprinting, Exam Quality, Faculty Satisfaction, MCQs, Quality Assurance, Validity Written theory exam.Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to enhance the validity of the exam bank at Liaquat National Medical College (LNMC), Karachi, through the development and evaluation of the exam blueprinting process as part of an ongoing quality assurance initiative.
Study design and setting: This study was conducted at Liaquat National Medical College (LNMC), Karachi. Participants included key stakeholders i. faculty members, ii-officials from the examination department (involved in the development of the fourth-year MBBS neuroscience exam blueprint), and iii-students.
Methodology: Ethical approval for this study was taken by the LNMC Ethics Review Committee. For the ease of understanding, this article was divided into two sections: In first section, the stepwise approach of blueprint development was discussed whereas the second section dealt with feedback from 105 Year 4 MBBS students, feedback from faculty involved in this process and lastly, the experiences of examination unit personnel were explored.
Results: Following the Calgary model by Coderre et al., blueprint for undergraduate MBBS theory exam was developed. Students (85%) agreed that the exam accurately assessed the taught content. Faculty expressed satisfaction with the blueprinting process, noting improvements in exam quality, topic representation, and the elimination of redundant questions. Examination unit personnel reported better time management and improved alignment with curricular objectives. Initial challenges, such as faculty’s lack of training and resistance were also identified.
Conclusion: The blueprinting process significantly enhanced alignment of theory exam with educational objectives thereby ensuring the content validity. Continued training and institutional support are vital to overcoming initial challenges
References
1. Pawade YR, Chalak AS, Pawade DY. Blueprints in
biochemistry: Systematic assessment in undergraduate medical
education. Res Dev Med Educ 2022;11:22. DOI :http://dx.doi.
org/10.34172/rdme.2022.022
2. Patil SY, Gosavi M, Bannur HB, Ratnakar A. Blueprinting in
assessment: A tool to increase the validity of undergraduate
written examinations in pathology. Int J Appl Basic Med Res
2015;5:S76-9. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/2229-
516X.162286
3. Kundoor N, Hussain F, Lingam S, Reddy VN, Arcot R,
Bondugula H, et al. Developing and Validating an Assessment
Blueprint for Clinical Skill Competencies in General Surgery
for the Medical Undergraduates. SDME. 2023;20(1):8–15.DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22062/sdme.2023.198234.1156
4. de Montbrun S, Louridas M, Szasz P, Harris KA, Grantcharov
TP. Developing the blueprint for a general surgery technical
skills certification examination: A validation study. J Surg
Educ. 2018;75(2):344–50. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016
/j.jsurg.2017.08.007
5. Abdellatif H, Alsemeh AE, Khamis T, Boulassel M-R. Exam
blueprinting as a tool to overcome principal validity threats:
A scoping review. Educ médica. 2024;25(3):100906. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edumed.2024.100906
6. Mohajan HK. Two criteria for good measurements in research:
Validity and reliability. Annals of Spiru Haret University.
Annals of Spiru Haret University Economic Series.
2017;17(4):59–82.
7. Raymond MR, Grande JP. A practical guide to test blueprinting.
Med Teach. 2019;41(8):854–61. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/
10.1080/0142159X.2019.1595556
8. Ahmad RG, Hamed OAE. Impact of adopting a newly
developed blueprinting method and relating it to item analysis
on students’ performance. Med Teach [Internet]. 2014;36
Suppl 1(sup1):S55-61. DOI : http://dx.doi.org/ 10.3109/
0142159X.2014.886014
9. Banerjee Y, Tambi R, Gholami M, Alsheikh-Ali A, Bayoumi
R, Lansberg P. Augmenting Flexnerism via Twitterism: Need
for integrating social media application in blueprinting
pedagogical strategies for undergraduate medical education.
JMIR Med Educ [Internet]. 2019;5(1):e12403.DOI :
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/12403
10. Gottlieb M, Bailitz J, Fix M, Shappell E, Wagner MJ.
Educator's blueprint: A how-to guide for developing highquality multiple-choice questions. AEM Educ Train.
2023;7:e10836. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10836
11. Abdellatif H, Al-Shahrani AM. Effect of blueprinting methods
on test difficulty, discrimination, and reliability indices: crosssectional study in an integrated learning program. Adv Med
Educ Pract. 2019;10:23–30. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2147/
amep.s190827
12. Coderre S, Woloschuk W, McLaughlin K. Twelve tips for
blueprinting. Med Teach. 2009;31(4):322–4. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1080/ 01421590802225770
13. Ismail MA-A, Mat Pa MN, Mohammad JAM, Yusoff MSB.
Seven steps to construct an assessment blueprint: a practical
guide. EIMJ. 2020;12(1): 71– 80. DOI : https://doi.org/
10.21315/eimj2020.12.1.8
14. Corbin J, Strauss A. Basics of qualitative research: Techniques
and procedures for developing grounded theory. Sage
publications. 2015
15. Fona C. Qualitative data analysis: Using thematic analysis.
In Researching and Analysing Business 2024 (pp. 130-145).
Routledge
16. V, Clarke V. To saturate or not to saturate? Questioning data
saturation as a useful concept for thematic analysis and samplesize rationales. Qual Res Sport Exerc Health
2021;13(2):201–16.DOI : http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/
2159676x.2019.1704846
17. Maietta R, Mihas P, Swartout K, Petruzzelli J, Hamilton AB.
Sort and sift, think and shift: let the data be your guide an
applied approach to working with, learning from, and
privileging qualitative data. Qualitative Report. 2021;26(6).
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.46743/2160-3715/2021.5013
18. Dutta AK, Goswami K. Developing a blueprint for theoretical
assessment of biochemistry of phase I MBBS students. Med
Sci Educ 2023;33(2):339–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40670-
023-01757-4
19. Chrisyarani DD, Rahayu S, Yulianti Y, Meviana I, Asmah A,
Ladamay I. Analysis of the impact of curriculum development
and implementation of MBKM on student satisfaction at FIP
UNIKAMA. J. Bs. Edu. R 2022 18;6(1):47-55. DOI: https://
doi.org/10.21067/jbpd.v6i1.6617
20. Bhardwaj N, Krishna H, Ghatak S, Singh K. Blueprinting of
assessment for the lower limb in undergraduate anatomy
curriculum. Cureus 2023;15(11):e49357. DOI : http://dx.doi.
org/10.7759/cureus.49357
21. Gujarathi AP, Dhakne-Palwe S, Patil RN, Borade-Gedam P,
Mahale MS, Gosavi SV, et al. Preparation of blue prints for
formative theory assessment of undergraduate medical students
in Community Medicine. MVP J Med Sci 2015;2(2):100.
DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.18311/mvpjms/2015/v2/i2/782
22. Er, H.M., Nadarajah, V.D., Hays, R.B. et al. Lessons Learnt
from the Development and Implementation of an Online
Assessment System for Medical Science Programmes. Med
Sci Educ 2019;29:1103–1108. DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/
s40670-01900802-5
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Yusra Nasir, Sobia Ali, Muhammad Ahsan Naseer, Sana Farooq Shah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Journal of Bahria University Medical & Dental College is an open access journal and is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. which permits unrestricted non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 
Deprecated: json_decode(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($json) of type string is deprecated in /home/u735751794/domains/bahria.edu.pk/public_html/ojs_jbumdc/plugins/generic/citations/CitationsPlugin.inc.php on line 49
