The impact of medical school assessment on preparedness for practice

Purpose: As assessment is known to drive learning, this paper looks at the relationship between assessment practice across UK medical schools and graduates preparedness for practice. Materials and methods: It uses data on written and practical assessment at each medical school and the association with students’ self-reported preparedness for working as a foundation doctor on graduation, and in particular the preparation related to clinical skills. Results and conclusions: A negative correlation (β= −0.003, p < 0.001) was observed between total duration of written assessment and preparedness, while a positive relationship (β = 0.461, p < 0.001) was seen between “adequately prepared” and the proportion of all assessment time focusing on practical skills. This suggests that graduates from medical schools with a greater emphasis on practical skills in their assessment plan are better prepared to practice as a junior doctor on gradation; something that may be of relevance when designing a national licensing examination.