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Faculty Development

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Further information

This module was written by Dr Nav Chana, senior lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences St George’s University of London and Associate Director for Postgraduate General Practice Education London Deanery.  The module relates to areas 1, 3 and 4 of the Professional Development Framework for Supervisors in the London Deanery.

References

Baker E, O’Neil H and Linn R (1991) In: Gipps C (ed.) Beyond Testing. Routledge Falmer, London.

Chisolm A and Askham J (2006) What Do You Think of Your Doctor? A review of questionnaires for gathering patients’ feedback about their doctor. Picker Institute Europe.

Crossley J, Davies H, Humphris G and Jolly B (2002) Generalisability: a key to unlock professional assessment. Medical Education. 36: 972–8.

Dreyfus H and Dreyfus S (1986) Mind over machine. In: The Power of Human Intuition Expertise in the Era of the Computer. Basil Blackwell, Oxford.

Gonczi A (1994) Competency based assessment in the professions in Australia. Assessment in Education. 1(1): 27–44.

Kaufman D, Mann K and Jennett P (2000) Teaching and Learning in Medical Education: how theory can inform practice. Association for the Study of Medical Education, Edinburgh.

Lockyer J (2003) Multisource feedback in the assessment of physician competencies. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions. 23: 4–12.

Miller G (1990), The assessment of clinical skills/competence/performance. Academic Medicine (Supplement). 65: S63-7.

Norcini J, Blank L, Arnold G and Kimball H (1995) The mini-CEX: a preliminary investigation. Annals of Internal  Medicine. 125: 795–9.

Norcini J (2003) ABC of learning and teaching in medicine. Work based assessment. British Medical Journal. 326: 753–5.

PMETB Assessment Sub-group (2003) Principles and Standards for Assessment. Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, London.

PMETB Assessment Committee (2007) Developing and Maintaining an Assessment System – a guide to good practice. Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, London.

RCGP (2007) Workplace-based Assessment and the e-Portfolio. Royal College of General Practitioners, London.

Rethans J, Norcini J, Baron-Maldonado M, Blackmore D, Jolly B and La Duca T (2002).The relationship between competence and performance: implications for assessing practice performance. Medical Education. 36: 901–9.

Southgate L et al. (2001) The General Medical Council’s Performance Procedures; peer review of performance in the workplace. Medical Education. 35:  9–19.

Schuwirth L and van der Vleuten C (2004) Changing education, changing assessment, changing research. Medical Education. 38: 805–12.

Talbot M (2004) Monkey see, monkey do: a critique of the competency model in graduate medical education. Medical Education. 38: 1-7.

van der Vleuten C (1996) The assessment of professional competence: developments, research and practical implications. Advances in Health Science Education. 1: 41–67.

van der Vleuten C and Schuwirth L (2005) Assessing professional competence: from methods to programmes. Medical Education. 39: 309–17.

Wilkinson T et al. (2002) The use of portfolios for assessment of the competence and performance of doctors in practice. Medical Education. 36: 918–24.

William D and Black P (1996) Meanings and consequences: a basis for distinguishing formative and summative functions of assessment? British Educational Research Journal. 22: 537–48.

 

 

 

Course glossary

Aim
An aim in educational terms, is a brief statement of intent, indicating the scope and range of intended learning outcomes that the educational episode has been structured to address.
Assessment
Assessment is the term used to indicate an appraisal of students' performance. Typical formal assessments in medicine include written examinations, Multiple choice questionnaires (MCQ), observations of clinical or communication skills, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and Multi-Source Feedback (MSF). Assessments may be summative (where the marks gained contribute to a formal grade or award) or formative (where the focus is on providing feedback for ongoing development).
Class
Class refers to hierarchical differences between individuals or groups in societies or cultures . Factors that determine class may vary widely from one society to another. However, economic disadvantage and barriers to access servces are major issues within class discrimination.
Competencies
In assessment terms competencies refer to a set of professional abilities that includes elements of knowledge, skill, attitudes and experience.Competencies are similar to objectives and outcomes in that they provide a means of specifying attributes in relation to the ultimate intended performance that the competencies underpin (Grant, 2007, p 21). The use of competencies has been widespread in practical vocational subjects such as healthcare, management and engineering. Competence based curricula can be used as a basis for learning and teaching, for assessment and to help ensure professional accountability. Programmes for professions such as medicine usually include specific practical competences and the integration of more complex skills, knowledge and behaviours.
Curriculum
A detailed schedule of the teaching and learning opportunities that will be provided (GMC, 2004)
Curriculum
The GMC, 2004 described the curriculum as a detailed schedule of the teaching and learning opportunities that will be provided. A curriculum is a statement of the aims and intended learning outcomes of an educational programme. It states the rationale, content, organization, processes and methods of teaching, learning, assessment, supervision, and feedback.
Diversity
Diversity literally means difference. When it is used as a contrast or addition to equality, it is about recognising individual as well as group differences, treating people as individuals, and placing positive value on diversity in the community and in the workforce. Historically, employers and services have ignored certain differences.
Feasibility
This identifies the ease with which an assessment tool or programme can be implemented by considering the resources required to deliver the assessments and the acceptability to the trainees.
Reliability
This is an expression of the consistency and reproducibility (precision) of measurements so that as far as possible sources of measurement errors have been taken into account. There are three important dimensions of error: the consistency of marking, the quality of the test and the test items themselves.
Sampling
In this context refers to gathering multiple 'snapshots' of the performance of the learner over the time-frame of training using multiple tools and incorporating the views of multiple individuals in order to build up a rich picture of the learner.
Supervision
Usually a formal one-to-one relationship, focussed around professional conversations to help the supervisee develop reflective professional practice, learning and skills with the aim of improving patient care.
Triangulation
The principle that in judging the attainment of professional competence, a variety of tools are used to gather evidence, and that information gathered from one tool is compared and contrasted with evidence from other sources.
Utility
The usefulness of an assessment defined as a product of its reliability, validity, cost effectiveness, acceptability and educational impact.
Validity
Validity in assessment terms refers to the degree to which a measurement instrument truly measures what it is supposed to measure. It is concerned with whether the right things are being assessed, in the right way, and with a positive influence of learning.