Impact of oral assessment on physiotherapy students' learning in practice

Given that all of us are potential users of health and social care services, the rigorous assessment of student health professionals in practice should be of common interest. However, rigorous assessment of practice-based learning is notoriously challenging. One would expect assessment in the context of the workplace to be an indicator of fitness for purpose and for practice. However, some indication that health professional students, including physiotherapists, are less fit for practice on qualification than might be desirable suggests a need to rethink assessment practices. Drawing on insights from students, clinical educators, and university visiting tutors in the United Kingdom, this article offers a rationale for combining assessment by observation of performance with a formal oral assessment. We argue that complementarity between the two types of assessment when combined means they allow us to gain a holistic impression of the student's overall performance. We illustrate how the oral component of assessment influences how students go about learning and highlight its perceived 'added value' in terms of helping students prepare for employment. Our findings are theorised in terms of the extent to which assessment aligns with learning activities and learning outcomes, which we believe is vital in health professional programmes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the views of students, clinical educators, and university visiting tutors on assessment strategies used in clinical practice. Our objectives were to develop our understanding of the contribution made by each element of assessment to our overall view of student capability. On this basis we would determine whether both assessment components were deemed necessary by all of the stakeholders.