An Approach to Evaluating Competence in Assessing and Managing Violence Risk

OBJECTIVE: The authors developed and evaluated a tool for assessing competency in violence risk assessment and management. METHODS: The Competency Assessment Instrument for Violence Risk (CAI-V) was based on the literature on violence risk assessment, which was complemented by feedback from faculty focus groups. In an objective structured clinical examination, 31 faculty observers used the CAI-V to rate the performance of 31 learners' (26 psychiatry residents and five psychology interns) risk assessments of standardized (simulated) patients. In an interrater reliability study, six faculty members rated video-recorded risk assessments. RESULTS: The CAI-V had good internal consistency reliability (α=.93). Senior learners performed better on the CAI-V than junior learners, supporting the instrument's concurrent validity. Interrater reliability was good (intraclass correlation coefficient=.93). Participants reported that the CAI-V provided a helpful structure for feedback and supervision. CONCLUSIONS: The results supported the potential of this new approach for appraising competency in violence risk assessment and management.