Research ArticleOpen Access

Aligning Pathology Assessment in a Learner-Cantered Undergraduate Medical Curriculum

Volume 1 - Issue 5

**Neelam Doshi*¹, Carmel Tepper² and Robert Gordon Wright³**

Author Information Open or Close
- ¹Associate Professor, Medicine Bond University, Australia
- ²Assessment Lead, Pre-Clinical Medical Program, Australia
- ³Professor Pathology, Medicine Bond University, Australia
*Corresponding author: Neelam Doshi, Pathology Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine Bond University, Robina Gold Coast, 4226, Australia

Received: October 02, 2017; Published: October 12, 2017

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2017.01.000435

Full Text PDF

To view the Full Article Peer-reviewed Article PDF

Abstract

Introduction : The Bond Medical Program delivers pathology in the preclinical years through interactive learning. Assessment for learning demandsfit-for-purpose assessmentthat aligns with the curriculum. In Year 2 of the medical curriculum, clinical pathology is assessed through a series of written and an integrated practical assessment (IPA) examination. The IPA is a practical examination held in a laboratory which permits the use of multi-media. The traditional written paper examines the theoretical aspect of pathology while the IPA assesses the observational skill and three dimensional application of pathophysiology to disease processes.

Objectives : To determine whether a difference exists in student performance on pathology questions between the IPA and a written examination.

Methods : Year 2 undergraduate medical students write a 50-station IPA, followed by a 50-question written paper. A comparison of performance between the written assessment and the IPA is undertaken and correlated using Pearson correlation coefficient.

Results : A positive Pearson’s correlation coefficient of percentage scores (r=0.68, significant at > 0.01) between the written and IPA suggests a strong association between the two assessment methods.

Conclusion : Students’ scores in the IPA and the written assessment correlate well which suggest either could be used to predict students’ performance in pathology. The IPA enables students to connect the basic sciences with clinical sciences, thus aligning our learner centred pathology curriculum with the assessment tools.

Keywords : Assessment; Clinico-pathological correlation; Integrated; Pathology; Performance