Assessment in Medical Education

Abstract

As an attending physician working with a student for a week, you receive a form that asks you to evaluate the student's fund of knowledge, procedural skills, professionalism, interest in learning, and “systems-based practice.” You wonder which of these attributes you can reliably assess and how the data you provide will be used to further the student's education. You also wonder whether other tests of knowledge and competence that students must undergo before they enter practice are equally problematic.