Congratulations to Dr Gillian Vance, Dr Bryan Burford, Dr Charlotte Rothwell (SME) and Fiona Beyer and Dr Louise Tanner (IHS) who have been  commissioned by the General Medical Council to carry out a project to identify ‘Best Practice in Assessing Competence’.

What the project will do, and why it matters.
The GMC is the independent regulator of all doctors in the UK, and has various roles in relation to assessment, including one-off summative assessments. In this study, we will conduct a systematic literature review, supplemented by a number of case studies, to explore and synthesise evidence for good practice approaches to the summative assessment of doctors’ professionalism, ethical and safe practice, and use of simulated environments to assess clinical and professional competence.

The project’s outputs will support the GMC’s roles in assessment, and inform the regulator’s wider assessment strategy, including development of the new ‘Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA)’. The MLA is anticipated to complement the current quality assurance arrangements for undergraduate education and to replace the current ‘PLAB’ test for International Medical Graduates seeking to practise in the UK.

Talking about this commission Gill Vance, PI said:

“We are delighted that our research can help shape this significant development in the regulation of medical education in the UK.”