Computer-assisted general medicine clerkship evaluation

This report describes the development and analysis of a computer-assisted evaluation system designed to standardize and simplify student evaluations on a general medicine clerkship. Three standard clinical evaluation components were employed: written examination; oral examination; and clinical performance evaluation. Computer spread sheet technology was used to weight each component separately and calculate a final numerical grade for the clerkship. The system provides a consistent, well-documented and well-defined method for justifying individual grades of honours, pass or fail. It has been very helpful in identifying evaluation problems occurring in particular hospital sites or with particular evaluators.