Medical education
-
The term 'validity' is used pervasively in medical education, especially as it relates to curriculum, assessment, measurement and instrumentation. Exactly what is meant by the term 'validity' in the medical education literature is not always clearly defined. ⋯ Assessment is integral to measurement and decision making in medical education. The implications of assessment results are variably dependent on the inferences and decisions made from them. As such, validity evidence is critical, but is also flexibly tied to those decisions and not all assessments require the same degree of validity rigor. The framework described herein reinforces a model for medical educators to use in developing their assessment and evaluation needs and associated requirements for validity evidence.
-
Attempts to reduce doctors' working hours and streamline postgraduate medical training may mean junior doctors' out-of-hours experience is reduced. It is also proposed that, in the UK, compulsory clinical (Foundation Programme) competencies are to be accomplished in 1 year rather than 2 years as they are at present. This observational study was performed to examine the scope of opportunity available to junior doctors to achieve such competencies while working on a 'Hospital at Night' (H@N) team. ⋯ The H@N initiative provides adequate opportunities for junior doctors to attain important clinical (Foundation) competencies. There appears to be sufficient opportunity to achieve these competencies within 1 year rather than the 2 years currently allowed in the UK Foundation Programme.