Is workplace-based assessment (WBA) worthwhile?

Abstract

The ERS HERMES curriculum for Paediatric Respiratory Medicine¹ specified that assessment&nbsp;of many&nbsp;competencies should use&nbsp;WBA&nbsp;methods.&nbsp; However, few countries in Europe have adequate training/resources to facilitate such assessments; a&nbsp;recent survey suggested that few were undertaking formal structured WBA². As&nbsp;the UK has had mandatory WBA and appraisal as part of postgraduate training&nbsp;for more than 10 years, a survey was conducted among UK trainees and supervisors in paediatric pulmonology to explore the perceived usefulness of these processes. <b>Methods:</b> An online survey was circulated to trainees and supervisors&nbsp;in the British Paediatric Respiratory Society (BPRS).&nbsp;Four questions asked about the perceived value of four modalities of WBA and supervision: Case-based Discussion (CBD), Procedural Assessment (DOPS), Multisource Feedback (MSF) and formal supervision meetings.&nbsp; Answer options were a 4-point Likert scale: Very/ Moderately/Slightly/Not At All.&nbsp; Further questions asked whether, and how often, the respondent would carry out each of these processes as a supervisor if they were not mandatory;&nbsp;‘Never’ was one of the options. <b>Results:</b> 15&nbsp;supervisors and 13&nbsp;trainees responded. The proportion of supervisors/trainees who felt that the modalities were very or moderately worthwhile was: CBD: 93%/77%; DOPS: 67%/46%; MSF: 67%/77%; Meetings: 100%/85%. If these activities were not mandatory, regular CBD (Supervisors/Trainees) would be carried out by 93%/100%; DOPS: 75%/92% ; MSF: 71%/92%; Meetings &gt;&nbsp;6 monthly: 71%/77%. Where WBA is obligatory the perception of these activities is largely positive; the vast majority would continue to do them even if they were not mandatory. 1. Gappa, M. Breathe 2010; 7:72-9 2. Primhak, R. Breathe 2020; 16:1-6