Assessment of professionalism in the workplace: An idea whose time has come?

Background and purpose: Professionalism occupies a key position in medical education with its undisputed importance in the delivery of quality clinical care. Regular assessment of this domain from early in training, with initial formative assessments focussed on providing feedback, is recommended to instill acceptable standards of practice and address unacceptable lapses of professionalism(1). Workplace-based Assessment (WBA), with its emphasis on authenticity(2), is potentially a core tool in assessment of professionalism, and professionalism is regularly included in WBA criteria. Concern that our current professionalism assessment in medical student training is sub-optimal, prompted development of a multistage project aiming to review and evaluate current tools and practices. Methods: The project goal is to determine gaps, strengths and weaknesses of the professionalism curriculum with a view to enhanced curriculum visibility, integration and alignment. A preliminary literature review was performed to identify and critically evaluate methods of assessment of professionalism, with a focus on the role of WBAs, in preparation for a curriculum development workshop. Workshop processes focussing on consensus building between curriculum planners, assessors and students will be sought along with agreed examplars of professional practice and lapses. Results: Despite considerable efforts to conceptualise professionalism and refine professionalism curricula in recent years, assessment of this domain of medical practice remains challenging. WBAs offer significant advantages for assessment of professionalism, however WBA tools provide limited guidance for learners and assessors, which may undermine the achievement and evaluation of learning objectives in this field. Conclusions: Whilst WBAs can promote authenticity in assessments, assessors and educators need assistance to identify, revise and correctly apply WBA tools in the assessment of professionalism. A review of local practice and development of consensus and shared mental models between clinician assessors, curriculum developers and students may assist in implementing an improved system of assessment overall. References 1. Hodges BH, Ginsburg S, Cruess R et al. Assessment of professionalism: Recommendations from the Ottawa 2010 Conference. Medical Teacher. 33: 354 363 2. Miller GE. The assessment of clinical skills / competence / performance. Academic Medicine. 1990; 65 (9 suppl): S63–S67