Fundamentals of Assessment in Medical Education
Modeled on the successful ESME course, a new course on Fundamentals of Assessment in Medical Education (FAME) will be introduced at the 2007 AMEE Conference and is being directed to those with responsibility for assessing undergraduate medical students, graduate trainees and practicing doctors. The scope of the course will also include selected aspects of program evaluation. Instruction will concentrate on application of assessment principles to participants' specific assessment problems. The arrangement should result in participants who are versed in important features of effective assessment.
Sponsors and Faculty
FAME is a joint project of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) in collaboration with The Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) . Course faculty will be internationally-recognized experts drawn from the sponsoring organizations and from around the world. Leading the FAME faculty are John Norcini, Ph.D., President of FAIMER, and Donald Melnick, M.D., President of NBME. The Course Director is Tony LaDuca, Ph.D., formerly Principal Assessment Scientist at NBME.
Course Design
FAME is intended to be a basic-level course on educational assessment. We are targeting persons who are members of medical faculties and who are likely to be relatively new to teaching and assessment. (Persons who have assumed new responsibilities for assessment are also likely to benefit from this course.) FAME is designed around two complementary dimensions, namely, five assessment themes and four assessment frames.
Course Schedule
The pre-conference days will consist of plenary and small group sessions. Small group work will be organised around the four frames listed above, culminating with participants’ and faculty facilitators preparing a conference itinerary for the participants in each of the frames. On the Conference days, Faculty and participants will meet daily over lunch to review sessions attended. At the conclusion of the AMEE conference, faculty will sum up the course experience, address remaining questions from participants, and discuss possible future study.
The FAME Matrix
The assessment frames represent the context for the issues the participants are confronting in their home institutions, while the themes comprise the principal components of assessment activity. Themes and frames intersect, represented in a matrix. Participants confront specific assessment problems that alter the manner in which they must address themes. For example, setting standards for MCQ tests of undergraduate student learning in the basic sciences is very different from setting standards for doctors’ performance in outpatient clinics. Thus, the matrix provides an organizational scheme for both faculty and participants. Theme speakers must respond to the ways in which their themes are different across the different frames. Frame group facilitators must remain focused on these same issues as discussion unfolds. And participants must embrace the challenge of carrying out assessment activities in ways that are appropriate to their needs.
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