Employing Situational Judgment Tests During the Medical Training

Abstract

In the field of medicine, the assessment of medical students conventionally has been carried out on the basis of academic performance alone. However, it is a fact that a medical professional should possess much more than medical knowledge alone and that's the reason why other core competencies have been defined by the regulatory bodies across the world. This translates to the immense need to assess the professional characteristics of a medical student, as they are equally important attributes in the making of a competent health care professional. Situational judgement test is a tool to assess the non-academic attributes in a medical student and has been acknowledged as an effective method for teaching, training and practicing medicine. In conclusion, the situational judgment test is an extremely cost-effective, valid and reliable approach to assess the non-academic attributes of the medical students in their workplace. This calls for the need to introduce them in all the medical institutions for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as it will definitely prepare them for the challenges of clinical practice.