Implementation of progressive competency based assessment of clinical skills in an MD program: Evaluation of impact on student learning

Introduction/background: At Griffith University Graduate Entry MD program, students commence clinical skills workshops across the domains of professional communication and counselling skills, procedural and physical examination skills from the beginning of Year 1 with extensive use of simulation. Students’ competency across these domains was previously assessed by one summative end of year OSCE. Multisource feedback from academic staff, students and clinical teachers, identified several challenges, including insufficient supervised practise of physical examination and procedural skills, lack of confidence utilizing these skills in the clinical environment, lack of formative assessment and high student anxiety regarding end of year summative assessment. Aim/objectives: This presentation will detail the implementation and evaluation of a program of progressive competency-based assessment of physical examination and procedural skills into Year 1 MD in 2018. Methods: The evaluation methodology included pre- and post-surveys related to the gastrointestinal physical examination module as well as focus groups. Separate focus groups were facilitated for medical students and facilitators by two researchers at the end of the 2018 academic year, utilizing a semistructured interview process. The focus groups were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results: Preliminary key findings will be presented at the ANZAHPE conference in July 2019. Discussion: Our hypothesis is that the embedding of multiple low stakes clinical skills assessments across the academic year with increased supervised practise and formative assessment will positively impact on student learning and acquisition of relevant skills. ; No Full Text