To determine the reliability (internal consistency) of the rating scale, a pilot was performed in which 10 the rating scale, a pilot was performed in which 10 participants received special training and assessed six actual telephone calls using the rating scale. One of the participants was a member of the focus group. All participants were nurses experienced in call handling. Before training, participants received the manual and the rating scale to be studied at home. Training was led by a teacher with experience in teaching communication skills to medical students. During training the group discussed the items on the scale and in the manual to make sure that they understood the meaning of the items and the method of rating. Each participant assessed two specially designed simulated telephone calls presenting a medical problem. Then the teacher and participants compared and discussed their scoring. At the end of the training participants felt confident to handle the scale themselves.
How this fits in
Call handlers at out-of-hours centres need excellent skills in telephone communication. An instrument to assess those skills was unavailable. This paper describes the development of an instrument, the RICE rating scale, for assessing the communication skills of call handlers at an out-of-hours centre.
After training, each participant received an audio tape with six (anonymised) actual conversations recorded at an (anonymised) out-of-hours centre. All personal data of the call handler and the patient were removed from the tape and this removal was checked by the manager of the centre.
Assessments by participants involved listening to the audio tape of six conversations between callers and call handlers. Participants rated calls using the rating scale which was done at home. They recorded the time they needed to complete the scale for each call and the frequency of listening to the same call (completely or partly).
