Practical Guide to the Evaluation of Clinical Competence

Assessment of health professionals across the continuum of medical
education and practice is essential for advancing high-quality and
safe healthcare and improving health for patients and the public.
Assessment of clinical competence is a core element of educational
professionalism and underlies effective professional self-regulation; it
is essential for fulfilling our professional obligation as educators to
assure the public that the graduates of health professions education
training programs are truly prepared to enter the next stage of
education and/or practice. Despite substantial attention to the quality
and safety of healthcare over the past 25 years, major deficiencies and
concerns persist in healthcare fields. The transformation of medical
education, and the education of all healthcare professionals, is
appropriately seen as part of the solution. Effective assessment is a
vital component of this difficult transformation that is only further
challenged by a once-in-a-century pandemic.
The primary purpose of this book is to provide a practical guide to
developing assessment programs using a systems lens. No single
assessment method is sufficient to determine something as complex
as clinical competence. Educators will need to develop programs of
assessment (i.e., programmatic assessment) by choosing the optimal
combination of methods, based on the best evidence available, for
their local context. This book has been organized around the various
assessment methods and instruments and how individuals with
responsibilities for assessment can apply these methods and
instruments in their own setting. We have provided an overview of
key educational theories applicable to help the reader understand
how best to use the assessment method and its purpose.