In competency-based medical education (CBME), workplace-based assessment (WBA) aims to provide stakeholders with evidence of learner competencies. Hence, ensuring the validity of the WBA toolkit is crucial. Our institution has used mini-clinical evaluation exercises (mini-CEX), direct observation of procedural skill (DOPS) and portfolios as WBA tools. This paper presents our viewpoints on validating our WBA toolkit when we revised our 12-year WBA practice. Our curriculum used an unspecific, one-in-all mini-CEX for scoring (for formative and summative purposes). It also ran a fixed exam agenda. Together, those practices have made our WBA ineffective. We found that generalizing should be the primary inference of conducting mini-CEX/DOPS. Scoring should not be the sole aim of mini-CEX/DOPS. We also found that the fixed agenda negatively impacted learners’ autonomy and behavior. It would be better for us to design a series of specific mini-CEX/DOPS instead of one multi-purpose mini-CEX/DOPS. Specific mini-CEX/DOPS should be suitable for both formative and summative purposes. Users should consider using those tools for routine self-directed learning, self-reflection and peer evaluation instead of for exams only. Besides, we should consider designing a flexible agenda instead of a fixed one. Continuous revision is crucial for improving the validity of mini-CEX/DOPS. It should use feedback from various stakeholders, focusing on its ability to drive self-reflection and make inferences from information. On the other hand, we found that inadequate training in completing and assessing portfolios made them ineffective. Supporting self-reflection should be the primary goal of completing portfolios. Training educators on judging portfolios is compulsory.

Authors:
Luan Au, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Hochiminh City, Vietnam
My Do, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Hochiminh City, Vietnam
Hien Nguyen, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Hochiminh City, Vietnam

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Luan Nhut Au is a senior lecturer, curricular developer and former head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Hochiminh City (UMP). His works focus on pedagogical approaches in higher education, especially Team-Based learning, curriculum development, student assessment and education quality assurance.

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