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Previous Volume 356:387-396 January 25, 2007 Number 4 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text PowerPoint Slide Set Supplementary Video Editorial by Klass, D. Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

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.

In one way or another, most practicing physicians are involved in assessing the competence of trainees, peers, and other health professionals. . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Competence and Performance

Goals of Assessment

Assessment Methods

Written Examinations

Assessments by Supervising Clinicians

Direct Observation or Video Review

Clinical Simulations

Multisource ("360-Degree") Assessments

Portfolios

Challenges in Assessment

New Domains of Assessment

Multimethod and Longitudinal Assessment

Standardization of Assessment

Assessment and Learning

Assessment of Expertise

Assessment and Future Performance

Conclusions

Source Information

From the Departments of Family Medicine, Psychiatry, and Oncology and the Rochester Center to Improve Communication in Health Care, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Epstein at 1381 South Ave., Rochester, NY 14620, or at ronald_epstein@urmc.rochester.edu.

Related Letters:

Assessment in Medical Education
Parakh K., de Galan B. E., van Gurp P. J., Stuyt P. M., Buttery C. M., Cassel C. K., Epstein R., Klass D.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2007; 356:2108-2110, May 17, 2007. Correspondence

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