Performance in practice; exploring trainer and trainee experiences of user-designed formative assessment tools

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• General Practice Training

Background:

• General Practice training in Ireland utilizes various formative assessment and feedback methods.
• The Irish College of General Practitioners developed new user-designed tools, the Performance in Practice (PiP) tools, to enhance trainee learning through feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the experiences of General Practice trainers and trainees after a 4-month pilot of the PiP tools.

Main Methods:

• An explorative phenomenological approach was employed.
• One-to-one interviews were conducted with trainers and trainees.
• Transcripts were analyzed using Template analysis to identify themes and sub-themes.

Main Results:

• User experiences centered on educational value and acceptability.
• The PiP tools were perceived as an improvement over existing feedback methods, aligning with the curriculum and GP requirements.
• Acceptability was influenced by data governance, structures, and software usability.

Conclusions:

• The pilot implementation of the PiP tools yielded positive experiences for both General Practice trainers and trainees.
• Findings from this research will inform future plans for the broader implementation of the PiP tools.