Connect
MJA
MJA

Evaluating workplace-based assessment of interns in a Queensland hospital: does the current instrument fit the purpose?

Jianzhen Jenny Zhang, David Wilkinson, Malcolm H Parker, Andrew Leggett and Jill Thistlethwaite
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (4): . || doi: 10.5694/mja11.11369
Published online: 5 March 2012

To the Editor: An evaluation of 3390 prevocational progress assessment forms in New South Wales suggested that the assessment instrument appears unable to detect underperforming doctors, and may not aid their professional development.1 Similarly, Queensland interns undertake five terms per year and, in each of these, they are assessed against 11 items in three domains: clinical competence, communication, and personal and professional skills. The purpose of the assessment is to identify underperformers and subsequently to help improve their performance. However, there is limited literature on the psychometric properties of the instruments used. Our study aimed to evaluate the construct validity and reliability of the instrument as a measure of interns’ performance.


  • School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD.


Correspondence: jenny.zhang@uq.edu.au

Acknowledgements: 

We thank staff from the Medical Education Unit at Princess Alexandra Hospital for their support and advice.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Bingham CM, Crampton R. A review of prevocational medical trainee assessment in New South Wales. Med J Aust 2011; 195: 410-412. <MJA full text>
  • 2. Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils. Australian curriculum framework for junior doctors. http://curriculum.cpmec.org.au/ (accessed Aug 2010).
  • 3. Hays R. Assessment in medical education: roles for clinical teachers. Clin Teach 2008; 5: 23-27.
  • 4. Sidhu RS, Hatala R, Barron S, et al. Reliability and acceptance of the mini-clinical evaluation exercise as a performance assessment of practicing physicians. Acad Med 2009 (10 Suppl); 84: S113-S115.
  • 5. Bamforth M, Agarwal M. Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS). In: Bhugra D, Malik A, Brown N, editors. Workplace-based assessments in psychiatry. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2007: 56.

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.