At 08:39 16/10/96 GMT, you wrote:
Sadly, I think that Dr Midgely has missed the point. The case of Dr
Paul Hepple who passed the MRCGP and failed summative assessment illustrates
only the failure of summative assessment to distinguish those doctors who
are not competent at the end of vocational training. In his case, no-one
who knew his work ie trainer or course organiser believed Dr Hepple to lack
competence. This was the conclusion of an exam with no proven validity.
In contrast,the MRCGP exam is one with a long track record and
certainly leads the other College exams in terms of internal assessment of
validity. All exams have a built in limitation - they measure ability to
pass exams. Associating this with competence as a clinician is difficult.
I have seen no good evidence that the current arrangements for summative
assessment are able to achieve this. At least the College exam does not
pretend it it a measure of competence - it is a marker of excellence.
It is of great concern to GP registrars tht they can be judged
incompetent by an assessment of such little proven validity. Of greater
concern, perhaps is the affect of the assessment on the educational content
of the registrar year. At the recent Registrar Conference delegates
regretted the deleterious effect of preparation for the assessment on their
ability to spend time learning how to be a good GP. None of them reported
finding the experience educationally useful and, in a vote, delegates
preferred the College exam as a form of assessment.
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Dr Rachel Hopkins
Registrar representative at RCGP
Member of GMSC registrars' subcommittee
London Academic Training Scheme Research Registrar
Department of General Practice
UMDS
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>Dr Paul Hepple in the West of Scotland who failed summative assessment but
>passed the MRCGP, and the opinion of the JCPTGP Hon Sec Dr Malcolm Freeth
>that summative assessment is paramount in determining a certificate
>to practice is a landmark event, and another first for general practice.
>
>The examinations for entrance or fellowship of the other Royal Colleges
>must now be similarly seen to be of limited relevance - of course only
>General Practice has enacted that somebody who fails the test of competence
>a tthe endo f training is not allowed to go on to work alone in th
>especialty.
>
>Time for the specialties to explain what they are going to do about
>assessing actual competence to practice as opposed to passage through
>college exams.
>--- OffRoad 1.9n registered to Adrian Midgley
>
>----------------------
>Dr Adrian Midgley GP Exeter
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>Fax 01392-436105
>----------------------
>
>
>
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