Assessment
Exams are never a popular feature of any undergraduate curriculum, but everyone recognises that the Medical School has a duty to ensure that its graduates have achieved a safe and satisfactory standard of performance in all the elements of medical practice. Assessment is built in throughout the five years of the course, to ensure that basic skills are mastered before moving on to more advanced topics. Since medicine is not simply a theoretical subject, teaching and learning covers knowledge, skills and attitudes and assessment must therefore do the same. A variety of assessment methods are used:
Written Exams
These test factual knowledge, but can also test clinical reasoning/diagnostic skills and, to a lesser extent, attitudes. The format includes short answer questions, extended matching questions and multiple choice questions.
Clinical Exams
Clinical skills include history taking, communication skills and examination technique. Diagnostic skills, knowledge of disease management and a wide range of professional skills including ethics are also encompassed within clinical exams. These are tested in the following way:
The Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE)
These comprise a sequence of stations, usually between 12 to 18, each of which tests the candidate on his or her ability to perform a specific clinical task or solve a clinical problem, in 5 minutes
Course Work
In some courses, essays or reports are written. Some courses also involve students working in groups to produce posters or oral presentations.
Formative Assessments
Formative assessments are widely distributed within the course and their purpose is to provide feedback to students on how well they are performing. There is no sanction or penalty for failing these "practice" exams - they are intended to provide an early warning to students that they are not reaching the required standard. There are extensive support mechanisms within the School and formative exams often help staff to identify students who need help for one reason or another - e.g. because of illness or personal or financial difficulties.
Summative Assessments
Summative assessments are degree exams, usually at the end of a year. These are the "official" assessments that determine whether a student is good enough to proceed to the next year of the course, or to graduate at the end of the course. Students normally have two opportunities to pass such assessments.