At 13:37 18/12/2004, you wrote:
>Yep
>"Mandatory knowledge tests" are cheap
>But how may of us should we fail because I've a feeling such a test
>will have to be peer referenced (rather than criterion referenced) to
>avoid scything the workforce :-)If RCGP says 15per cent we're going to
>need a lot of delegated (supplementary) prescibers
>while we all trot back to school !
>
>Dave Young, Derby ( CME Tutor/NAPCE)
Mandatory knowledge tests are cheap, but why shouldn't they be criterion
referenced.
The combination of a knowledge test and a gamma GT would I suggest be a
reasonable combination of screening tests to pick up >90% of doctors with
serious problems.
I know the educationalists probably couldn't get their collective heads
around an exam that could probably be open book, did not need to be
discriminatory at the top end, only at the bottom, that contained questions
that virtually everyone should get 100% correct, and might be seriously
tightly time limited, but that doesn't make it impossible.
Those doctors not passing the screening tests would then need to provide
further evidence that they should be revalidated - ie. they would not lose
their licence to practice on the basis of a screening test, but others
would not need to supply (much) additional evidence.
Such a cheap solution would allow retired doctors to retain their licence
to practice more easily, and allow more resources to be focused on the
assessment AND SUPPORT of doctors in difficulty.
Perhaps the fact that no-one has done this means that it's not as easy as
it sounds, but maybe people have just got used to ignoring the obvious.
Julian
|