MED 6760 Clinical Skills II Assessment Plan

MED 6760 Clinical Skills II
Phase 2 Class of 2027
Winter/Spring 2024

Assessment Plan
 
The assessment plan sets out the principles and key elements used to assess the learner’s performance in an accurate, consistent, and objective manner for MED 6760 Clinical Skills II.

MED 6760 Clinical Skills II has learners develop clinical reasoning skills used in patient-centered care using focused interviewing, examination, and communication skills. 
 
Attendance at all Clinical Skills II sessions is required. Please see the Leave Policy and Clinical Skills document on Brightspace (D2L).
 
COURSE SUCCESS CRITERIA
 
To pass the course, a learner must:

  • Receive a mark of competent or exemplary performance in the communication SAR and a competent performance in the OSCE, or after re-assessment,
  • Complete all assessments and reassessments by the due date, and
  • Attend all sessions as per the course requirements. 

Exam and assignment deferrals will only be approved by the Phase Lead under exceptional circumstances, see Exam Deferral Policy.

Promotion regulations:

  • Even if a learner has passed all examinations and assignments, a learner may be required to repeat the Phase or withdraw conditionally or unconditionally from the program (see section 5.3 in the University calendar) if there are significant concerns about a learner’s performance (as communicated to the learner by the Phase Lead). Examples may include, but are not limited to, late assignments without proper deferral process, lapses in professionalism, recurrent reassessment exams.
  • As outlined in Section 10.5.2 of the Regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine in the University calendar, learners with a Fail grade in any course cannot be promoted to the next Phase.
  • As outlined in the MD program objectives, the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University values professionalism as a core competency and a requirement of the MD program. Recognizing that medical learners are developing their professional identity, professionalism lapses will be remediated where possible and appropriate. Unsuccessful remediation will result in failure of the Phase.  Professionalism lapses may render a learner incompatible with continuation in the MD program (as outlined in the Memorial University Calendar Regulation 10.5 Promotion).

COURSE ASSESSMENT
 
Learners will be assessed with both formative and summative assessments throughout the course. Learners will receive their grades from the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) office via One45.

Original work, completed wholly by the learner, is expected to be submitted in this course. The use of an artificial intelligence tool like chatGPT is not permitted.

Formative Assessments do not count towards the final grade and are intended to help learners monitor their learning. Formative assessment will consist of self-assessment, witnessed interviews and physical examination of standardized patients (SPs), as well as written homework. Learners receive ongoing oral and written assessments from instructors, SPs and peer members of the small group.

 In addition to the ongoing feedback, there are two formal formative assessment exercises:

  1. Formative OSCE assessment: Learners will do a two station practice OSCE on May 10, 2024. Learners are given verbal feedback following each station.
  2. Formative Evaluation Interview: Each learner does an interview with a facilitator on March 27, 2024. Learners are given verbal feedback following the interview.

 Written formative assessments may utilize the same four-point internal grading scale that is used for summative assessments. Formative assessments are designed to help the learner prepare for summative assessments and must be completed to pass the course. 

Summative assessment consists of:

  1. Communication Summative Assessment Report (SAR)

Each learner will receive a summative assessment from their instructor based on all of the sessional work from their phase 2 communication clinical skills:

    1. Participation
    2. Interest
    3. Interviewing skills
    4. Write ups from interview

The communication SAR is recorded on One45. A copy of the Communication SAR is available on Brightspace (D2L) for learners to reference.

SAR date: April 19, 2024

      2. OSCE

Learners complete a formal examination focusing on physical exam and history taking in a series of patient scenarios.

OSCE study day: June 13, 2024
Phase 2 OSCE: June 14, 2024
OSCE reassessment: July 4, 2024

COURSE GRADING

Clinical Skills is a Pass/Fail course on a learner’s transcript.  However, overall results for each component are expressed on a four-point internal scale of exemplary, competent, developing, or unsatisfactory as follows:

  • Communication Summative Assessment Report (SAR): Marked on a four-point internal scale of exemplary, competent, developing, or unsatisfactory. Sample assessment forms are available on Brightspace (D2L).
  • OSCE: Marked as competent or unsatisfactory.

Standard Setting for OSCE Examination

The provisional mark to achieve competency for OSCE examinations is 80%. A borderline regression method, a well-established standard-setting model in medical education, is used to set the cut-score for Competent/Unsatisfactory using the class results from each OSCE examination. The following criteria are used to determine competent/unsatisfactory status in the OSCE examination:

  • Any learner getting a mark above 80% overall will receive a competent grade in the OSCE
  • Any learner getting an overall mark at or above the pass mark as calculated by the borderline regression method and passing at least 7 out of the 10 stations will receive a competent grade in the OSCE
  • Any learner getting an overall mark below the pass mark as calculated by the borderline regression method will receive an unsatisfactory grade in the OSCE
  • Any learner failing more than 3 out of the 10 stations and getting an overall mark below 80% will receive an unsatisfactory grade in the OSCE

REASSESSMENT

Reassessment will be required if a learner receives a mark of developing or unsatisfactory performance in the communication SAR or receives an unsatisfactory grade in the OSCE. A learner may be re-assessed only once. Following the reassessment, the learner will be given a final grade of pass or fail.
 

Version: September 18, 2023
Reviewed by SAS: October 25, 2023
UGMS Approval: November 22, 2023