The assessment of professional competence: building blocks for theory development

Designing Assessment Programmes for the Model Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Specialists

“…In applying this definition to EM, competence of an EM specialist: (i) is based on the ability to perform specific clinical tasks; (ii) requires the integration of both domain-dependent (medical knowledge) and domainindependent (communication skills and professionalism) competencies in the domain of EM; (iii) is measurable in terms of observable behavior; (iv) is specific to the context of EM. 10,11 A useful framework to consider in relation to learning outcomes is Miller's pyramid. 12 The development of competence requires the progression from the knowledge components of competence ("knows"), to the integration of behavioural elements of competence in a simulated environment ("shows how"), and into the actual workplace ("does").…”

“…The trustworthiness of the decision is optimized through the use of procedural measures such as credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, inspired by qualitative research methodologies. 11,34 Within a programme of assessment, the potential for additional redundant assessments is reduced, preventing assessor fatigue.…”

An Assessment Program Using Standardized Clients to Determine Student Readiness for Clinical Practice

“…Van der Vleuten and colleagues report strong documentation in the performance-assessment literature that competence is specific, not generic, and thus, must be assessed in significant contexts. 27 The University of Kansas School of Pharmacy created a program with 10 discrete critical components that can be seen as separate parts of work, each of which is subject to review and adjustment. There are 3 professional components requiring experienced pharmacists and pharmacy faculty members, and 7 administrative components requiring a standardized-client methodologist (Table 1).…”

Self-evaluation of assessment programs: A cross-case analysis

“…This does not mean, however, that assessments should not be valid and reliable anymore. Validity and reliability are not fundamentally wrong for competence assessmentsthey serve epistemological concerns about what is being measured, and address fairness issues -but they should be operationalized in a different way to be suitable for the often more qualitative nature and formative functions of these assessments (Benett, 1993;van der Vleuten, Schuwirth, Scheele, Driessen, & Hodges, 2010). In competence-based education, the formative function of assessment has become more important.…”

“…The quality of traditional assessments can be guaranteed by controlling development and administration. New assessments, on the contrary, can only be as good as the job done by the assessors using the instrument (van der Vleuten et al, 2010). For example, rating scales or observation criteria only work if the assessors use them correctly, understand the criteria, and conscientiously observe the student.…”