A new evaluation can be created by clicking New on the Create tab of the Evaluations window. The new evaluation will open in the New Template window.

The Title of the evaluation is the name you will see in the list of evaluation forms on the Create tab, and will be the name you will use to recognize the form as you work with it.

Next to Form By, select the person who will be the evaluator (the person completing the evaluation). Next to About, select the person who will be the evaluatee (the person who will be evaluated).

If the evaluation is to be used as a Daily Evaluation (completed on an impromptu basis) the Daily check box should be selected. If the evaluation will be generated to a rotation Group Leader the Group check box will be selected.

If Force Answer All Questions is selected, the evaluator must answer all the questions in an evaluation before they can select the Mark as Complete check box.

A footer can be added to the evaluation by typing text in the field next to Footer.

If Don't Show Completed Forms is selected, a completed evaluation will be hidden from the evaluatee. Once the check box is cleared, the evaluatee will be able to view the completed evaluations.

Please Note: Using non-numeric values or a 0 (zero) will not properly tabulate evaluation averages in reporting. We recommend only using numbers greater than or equal to 0 (zero) with only one number per value field (correct= 1, incorrect= 6-7 or 6/7).

.rpt Files

Residency Partner™ uses an application called Crystal Reports to make all of the printed versions of evaluations. In order to fit evaluations on a printed page, "templates for printing" are created using Crystal Reports. These template are only used for printing evaluations from the Admin module. Evaluations are filled out using RP.NET, a web application which displays the evaluation in a browser window. Evaluators will see that evaluations will look very much like a computer exam.

A template (also referred to as an .rpt file) is chosen when an evaluation is being constructed. The templates provided by Gothic Software have very specific parameters regarding how many characters can be included in a text box, how many options will be displayed, the information included in the header etc.

While there are many to choose from, there is a possibility that you will not find one that fits your evaluation exactly. If this is the case, Gothic Software, Inc. can create a custom .rpt file for your evaluation.  Please keep in mind that evaluations will be displayed correctly in RP.NET, and evaluators will be able to view and complete them, even if there isn't yet an .rpt file for printing them.

When you are creating a new evaluation, you must select one of the .rpt files. The evaluator and evaluatee that you select in the Form By and About lists will determine which .rpt files you see when you click the browse button next to RPT File. If you are unsure about which .rpt file to select, choose the first one in the list, as it is usually the simplest and most flexible option. You cannot manually edit this field; only designated .rpt file names can be inserted.

Adding Questions

Before you add questions, you must add a Group to your evaluation. A group is a way of creating sections or headings in an evaluation. To add a group to your evaluation, select Add, and then select Group from the Evaluation Items menu.

An additional level of header can be added to an evaluation by adding Titles. To add a title, select Add, then Title from the Evaluation Items menu.

To add questions to an evaluation, select Add, then select Question from the Evaluation Items menu.

When a new question is added to an evaluation, notice that it is a scaled question. The default question type is called Normal. Normal questions are scaled questions. Scale values are numerical. Each scale value can have a header which explains the value. If the headers do not offer enough explanation of the scale options, you can expand each option by selecting Show Extended Fields from the Evaluation menu. Show Extended Fields will add three larger text boxes to the right of the options in each Normal question.

To change the type of question from Normal to another type of question, select either Yes/No or Comment from the list next to Question Type within each question. Yes/No questions provide two check boxes, one for Yes and one for No. Comment type questions provide a text box for evaluators to type comments.

Please note: In the Print/Preview view the form will only pull the value headers for the first question in the group. For printing purposes, it is recommended that every question in a group use the same scale for the most accurate printed form.

Group Evaluations

When you select the Group check box in the Evaluation Editor, any attendings who have been designated as Group Leader (you can have multiple Group Leaders) will get the evaluation.

Other attendings who do not have Group Leader checked in Rotation Listing will not get the evaluation.

Keep in mind that if you do not select the Group check box in the Evaluation Editor, the evaluation will go to all of the attendings assigned to the rotation in Rotation Listing, or those attendings you select during generation.

Editing Evaluations

Until an evaluation is generated, you are free to edit anything in it. After an evaluation has been generated, changes to evaluations can be applied to all current and future evaluations, or only future evaluations. When you save your changes, you will be asked "Should this change be reflected on all previous reports?" If you select Yes, all previous evaluations and any evaluations generated in the future will be changed. If you select No, the changes will only be applied to future evaluations. If you have discovered a misspelling or improper punctuation, you may decide to correct it in all existing and future evaluations. If you are adding or removing a question from an evaluation, you may want to only apply the change to future evaluations.

Evaluations can not be deleted by Coordinators or Admin Attendings. Evaluations can only be deleted by Residency Partner™ Administrators.

Extended Fields

Extended fields allow additional explanations/descriptions for evaluating someone or something on a sliding scale (1-10, 10-1, etc.) and can be dynamic for every question within a particular evaluation form. Not all evaluation forms use or need to show extended fields, only certain forms are set up for this option.  These boxes can either be made visible for implementation or kept hidden when editing or creating an evaluation in Residency Partner™.  Please consult with your Residency Partner™ Administrator if you need a form made to show extended fields. (This can be tested by previewing the form and seeing whether the extended fields are visible or not.)

To make extended fields visible in a new or existing evaluation, go into the evaluation edit module for the selected evaluation form. Under Evaluation, select Show Extended Fields.

Once selected, three (3) Explanation boxes have now been made visible for each question in the evaluation.

If your evaluation is mostly based on an ascending/descending scale, extended fields will make it clearer as to what type of criteria to use when completing each evaluation question. 

Visually, the top Explanation box will be most associated with the first value and be aligned to the left of the evaluation form, and the bottom explanation box will be aligned to the right of the form and be most associated with the last assigned value. Similarly, the Explanation box in the middle will represent the criteria for the middle range of values. Option values can go either in ascending or descending order and each question can have different text in the Explanation box to correspond to whatever is being specifically evaluated.