Continuous assessment of students during clinical clerkship--experiments at Maastricht

A method of continuous assessment of students in a clinical setting (paediatrics) was adopted at the Medical Faculty of the Rijksuniversiteit Limburg, Maastricht, the Netherlands. One out-patient department student/patient encounter per week was written up by the student, and assessed and commented upon by the clinical tutor. Criteria for assessment were predetermined, and a 4-point scale was used for rating. Score consistency was improved by asking one clinician to observe and mark the same students throughout the attachment. The co-ordinator's task was to establish the learning profile for each student on a chart, to give assistance to clinical tutors and to provide remedial education for students. Acceptability to all the parties involved was established. If this method were used with more than one student/patient encounter per week and if student/patient encounters were rated on the ward, in the emergency room, etc., continuous assessment and monitoring of students' learning would be achieved. This approach, therefore, warrants development and application in all clinical disciplines.