Programmatic assessment: the process, rationale and evidence for modern evaluation approaches in medical education

Learners in a programmatic assessment environment make better use of feedback

Common approaches to the assessment of competence in undergraduate and post-graduate medicine are modular — each module is completed with an assessment at the end, often resulting in a grade. Learners are passed for that module when they exceed a minimum passing level. Completing all modules results in graduation under the assumption that combining, often disparate, modules in this way assures entrustment to professional practice or ongoing training.