Premium
Setting performance standards for medical practice: a theoretical framework
Author(s) -
Southgate L,
Hays R B,
Norcini J,
Mulholland H,
Ayers B,
Woolliscroft J,
Cusimano M,
McAvoy P,
Ainsworth M,
Haist S,
Campbell M
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2001.00897.x
Subject(s) - function (biology) , health care , test (biology) , work (physics) , best practice , medical education , psychology , knowledge management , medicine , computer science , engineering , political science , mechanical engineering , paleontology , evolutionary biology , law , biology
Background The assessment of performance in the real world of medical practice is now widely accepted as the goal of assessment at the postgraduate level. This is largely a validity issue, as it is recognised that tests of knowledge and in clinical simulations cannot on their own really measure how medical practitioners function in the broader health care system. However, the development of standards for performance‐based assessment is not as well understood as in competency assessment, where simulations can more readily reflect narrower issues of knowledge and skills. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the development of standards that reflect the more complex world in which experienced medical practitioners work. Methods The paper reflects the combined experiences of a group of education researchers and the results of literature searches that included identifying current health system data sources that might contribute information to the measurement of standards. Conclusion Standards that reflect the complexity of medical practice may best be developed through an ‘expert systems’ analysis of clinical conditions for which desired health care outcomes reflect the contribution of several health professionals within a complex, three‐dimensional, contextual model. Examples of the model are provided, but further work is needed to test validity and measurability.