Examination and assessment under the spotlight

Dr John Zorbas, Chair AMACDT, says that good feedback is a core element of good assessment. With record numbers of medical graduates and trainees making their way through the training system, open and transparent assessment in medical training is more important than ever. “Examination and assessment was a key area of discussion at our last Council of Doctors in Training meeting” said Dr Zorbas in his latest column in Australian Medicine. “We currently have a working group discussing the principles that should guide open and transparent assessment. Early, open, transparent and honest feedback is essential to becoming the doctor most trainees want to be”, said Dr Zorbas.

The AMACDTs interest in this area follows concerns expressed by Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) trainees in December 2015 about very low pass rates for the first two cohorts of its trainees sitting exams under the competency based training program introduced by RANZCP in 2012.