Workplace Assessment in Crisis? – The Way Forward

IntroductionA recent Royal College of Physicians’ (RCP) study on assessment raises serious questions for workplace assessment. To address these, a system that bridges the gap from competence to performance and integrates supervised learning events (SLEs) that are formative in purpose with summative assessment of performance by entrustable professional activities (EPAs) is recommended.Aims and objectivesAs a working group on assessment in psychiatry, we were interested in the RCP findings which represent a significant milestone in studies of workplace assessment. The RCP aims were to evaluate the feasibility, validity and educational value of using existing WPBA tools but for different assessment purposes and processes.ResultsThese were based on the General Medical Council (GMC) working party on assessment. The RCP revised its assessment processes to differentiate between assessments of development and performance. The former are formative and aim to identify a trainee's areas of strength and development; the latter are summative and aim to determine fitness to progress. Of note is that the same workplace based assessment (WPBA) tool can be used for each type of assessment; the assessment's purpose is the discriminating factor.ConclusionsInitial design of the requisite EPAs requires value judgments by trainers and trainees alike on what represent core units of work. EPAs can contribute directly and more meaningfully to ARCP progression decisions.RecommendationsInclusion of the required level of supervision as part of SLE feedback enables future decisions on meeting performance standards.Trainee/trainerInteraction in this educational process.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

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Fraud and misconduct in medical research Summary of the report of the Royal College of Physicians

Psychiatric Bulletin ◽

10.1192/pb.16.10.628 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 628-629

Author(s):

Brian Ferguson

Keyword(s):

Medical Research ◽

Royal College ◽

Working Party ◽

General Medical Council ◽

District General Hospital ◽

The United States ◽

Northern Region ◽

Financial Fraud ◽

Medical Council ◽

Research Committee

In February 1991 the Royal College of Physicians produced a report entitled ‘Fraud and Misconduct in Medical Research’. Most of the cases documented have come from the United States but by the end of 1988 five cases had been formally reported in Britain. One of these was a financial fraud perpetrated by a psychiatrist who worked in a district general hospital in the Northern Region and who forged data for a drug company. He was subsequently reported to the General Medical Council by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and had his name removed from the medical register. Informal investigations, however, suggest that fraudulent research might be more widespread and as a result the Royal College of Physicians established a working party to look at this issue in detail. They recommended that a twin track approach of prevention and thorough management of complaints of misconduct be adopted. The report was kindly forwarded to the Research Committee of the Royal College of Psychiatrists which felt that a summary of these recommendations should be widely published among researchers in psychiatry.

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Deficient Professional Performance

Professional Conduct Casebook ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198817246.003.0018 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Kenneth Hamer

Keyword(s):

General Medical Council ◽

Medical Council ◽

Professional Performance ◽

And Performance

Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, in delivering the judgment of the Board, said, at [17], that, without casting any doubt on the decision in Krippendorf v. General Medical Council [2001] 1 WLR 1054, their Lordships felt that the distinction between competence and performance drawn in that case should not be taken too.

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Lessons from a Balint group scheme led by psychiatry trainees for year 3 bristol medical students on their medicine/surgery placements

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.347 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S169-S169

Author(s):

K. Wood ◽

A. Kothari ◽

J. Malone

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Medical Model ◽

Group Scheme ◽

General Medical Council ◽

Group Supervision ◽

Medical Council ◽

Balint Groups ◽

Competing Interest ◽

Balint Group ◽

The Uk

BackgroundThe UK General Medical Council highlights the centrality of effective communication, reflective practice and the doctor-patient relationship in medical practice. A decline in empathy has been documented as occurring within clinical and early postgraduate years, potentially affecting diagnostic processes and patient engagement. Access to Balint groups can enhance awareness of the patient beyond the medical model, but remains limited at many UK medical schools. This scheme offered Balint groups to Bristol medical students in their first clinical year, demonstrating that this method is relevant beyond psychiatry.MethodsInitial focus groups with medical students indicated that many felt unable to discuss distressing aspects of clinical encounters. During 2013-2014, a Balint scheme run by psychiatry trainees was started for 150 students in their psychiatry placements. During 2014-15, the scheme was introduced to all third-year medical students on their medicine/surgery placement. Balint leaders have group supervision with a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. Evaluation of the scheme was based on pre-and post-group questionnaires and leaders’ process notes.ResultsSixteen groups led by 12 trainees were run twice over the year to serve 246 medical students. Two example cases are discussed here. Students appreciated the chance to discuss complex encounters with patients in a supportive peer environment, and work through a range of emotionally challenging issues.ConclusionsNovel aspects of this work include the implementation of Balint groups within medicine and surgery placements; the enrolment of psychiatry trainees as leaders with group supervision and leadership training workshops from the UK Balint Society; and the scale of the scheme.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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The Duties of Doctors In Medical Education: A Letter To The Editor (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.16418 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sneha Barai

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Role Models ◽

Role Model ◽

General Medical Council ◽

Future Generations ◽

Medical Council ◽

Positive Role ◽

The Uk ◽

And Training

UNSTRUCTURED The UK General Medical Council (GMC) explicitly states doctors have a duty to ‘contribute to teaching and training…by acting as a positive role model’. However, recent studies suggest some are not fulfilling this, which is impacting medical students' experiences and attitudes during their training. As such, doctors have a duty to act as role models and teachers, as specified by the GMC, which it seems are not currently being fulfilled. This would improve the medical students’ learning experiences and demonstrate good professional values for them to emulate. Therefore, these duties should be as important as patient care, since this will influence future generations.

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