How faculty members experience workplace-based assessment rater training: a qualitative study.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Workplace-Based Assessment (WBA)
• Faculty Development

Background:

• Direct observation of clinical skills is central to workplace-based assessment (WBA).
• Faculty development is crucial for improving assessment quality, yet effective training methods remain unclear.
• Limited research explores faculty reactions to rater training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To qualitatively explore faculty experiences with two rater training approaches: performance dimension training (PDT) and modified frame of reference training (FoRT).
• To understand how faculty development can be optimally designed for rater training.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving 45 faculty preceptors from 26 US internal medicine residency programs.
• Participants engaged in a rater training program and were interviewed individually and in focus groups.
• Constructivist grounded theory was used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Rater training positively impacted direct observation, feedback, entrustment-based assessment, and faculty clinical skills.
• Identified barriers included preference for holistic assessment, defining competence challenges, difficulty changing assessment approaches, and institutional concerns.

Conclusions:

• Rater training using PDT and modified FoRT equips faculty with skills aligned with criterion-referenced and competency-based education.
• Challenges in implementation necessitate ongoing efforts to address institutional and cultural contexts in WBA.
• Training can foster reflection on faculty's own clinical skills.