Aligning Pathology Assessment in a Learner-Cantered Undergraduate Medical Curriculum
Journal Title: Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research (BJSTR) - Year 2017, Vol 1, Issue 5
Abstract
Introduction: The Bond Medical Program delivers pathology in the preclinical years through interactive learning. Assessment for learning demandsfit-for-purpose assessmentthat aligns with the curriculum. In Year 2 of the medical curriculum, clinical pathology is assessed through a series of written and an integrated practical assessment (IPA) examination. The IPA is a practical examination held in a laboratory which permits the use of multi-media. The traditional written paper examines the theoretical aspect of pathology while the IPA assesses the observational skill and three dimensional application of pathophysiology to disease processes. Objective: To determine whether a difference exists in student performance on pathology questions between the IPA and a written examination. Methods: Year 2 undergraduate medical students write a 50-station IPA, followed by a 50-question written paper. A comparison of performance between the written assessment and the IPA is undertaken and correlated using Pearson correlation coefficient. Result: A positive Pearson’s correlation coefficient of percentage scores (r=0.68, significant at > 0.01) between the written and IPA suggests a strong association between the two assessment methods. Conclusion: Students’ scores in the IPA and the written assessment correlate well which suggest either could be used to predict students’ performance in pathology. The IPA enables students to connect the basic sciences with clinical sciences, thus aligning our learner centred pathology curriculum with the assessment tools. The changing medical curriculum from a process-based traditional didactic model to competency-based integrated model requires alignment of assessment with teaching and learning. The teaching and learning of pathology in undergraduate medical curriculum has been evolving over the last two decades which demands changes in the assessment methods [1]. Medical schools are continuously exploring methods to integrate basic sciences and clinical sciences for better understanding of the disease process and its clinical application [2]. ‘Assessment for learning’ demands ‘fit-for-purpose’, multi-modal and longitudinal assessment [3]. For a robust medical program, the assessment process should reflect the content of the curriculum and the teaching approaches used. Assessing observational skills and the clinical application of basic sciences is a valuable tool for learning pathology.
Authors and Affiliations
Neelam Doshi, Carmel Tepper, Robert Gordon Wright
Keywords
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- EP ID EP573813
- DOI 10.26717/BJSTR.2017.01.000435
- Views 171
- Downloads 0
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