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New exam structure – too much too soon?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Elena Baker-Glenn*
Affiliation:
Specialist Trainee Year 3, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, email: elenabakerglenn@yahoo.co.uk
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Abstract

Type
The columns
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2008

The last examinations in the ‘old format’ have now finished, making the editorial and commentaries on ‘The long case is dead’ very timely (Reference AshurstAshurst, 2007; Reference Benning and BroadhurstBenning & Broadhurst, 2007; Reference TyrerTyrer, 2007). In addition, psychiatric training is undergoing significant change, particularly following the difficulties associated with Medical Training Application System, and Modernising Medical Careers.

With the move towards competency-based curricula, it is important to reassess the way that trainees are assessed. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are increasingly used to assess medical students instead of the traditional long and short cases. Long cases have been used in examinations since the 1970s and while standardisation of OSCEs is easier, each station provides only a snapshot of a candidate's performance.

Workplace-based assessments are a useful addition in the assessment of trainees’ competences and will now be the main method of evaluating their ability to perform a full comprehensive clinical assessment. However, these are new tools for both trainees and supervisors and it will take time and further development before they become a reliable method of assessment.

Many trainees have prepared for one examination format only to be forced into a new system, while the transitional arrangements mean that some aspects of the curriculum will not be tested in those who have obtained Part 1 and are exempt from Paper 2. Neither of these situations is ideal. An overlap between the old and new examination formats may have allowed an easier transition to a new way of working for trainees and help avoid the significant anxiety experienced by those affected by the changes.

References

Ashurst, P. (2007) On listening to the patient: Commentary on … The long case is dead. Psychiatric Bulletin, 31, 446447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benning, T. & Broadhurst, M. (2007) The long case is dead – long live the long case. Loss of the MRCPsych long case and holism in psychiatry. Psychiatric Bulletin, 31, 441443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tyrer, S. (2007) Non mors praematura: Commentary on … The long case is dead. Psychiatric Bulletin, 31, 447449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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