Assessing psychologists in practice: Lessons from the health professions using multisource feedback

The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic literature review of multisource feedback (MSF) instruments and to summarize the evidence of feasibility, reliability, generalizability, validity, and other psychometric characteristics of the instruments. Accordingly, we conducted a systematic literature review for English-language studies published from 1975 to 2012 using the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, and Psyc INFO. The following terms were used in the search: multisource feedback, 360-degree evaluation, and assessment of medical professionalism. Forty-eight studies conducted in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, China, and elsewhere met the inclusion criteria. The results indicate that MSF has adequate evidence of validity, reliability, and feasibility for providing health practitioners with quality improvement data (both formative and summative assessment) as part of an overall strategy of maintaining competence and certification. Professional psychology has not adopted MSF as a systematic competence-based method for evaluating, maintaining, and assuring competent practice of psychology and instead relies on self-assessment as the primary quality assurance approach for its public accountability. We make recommendations to adopt an MSF system of competence-based assessment of practicing psychologists by regulatory and licensing authorities in Canada and the United States.