Assessment
Introduction
Assessment aims to determine progress towards specific learning outcomes.
There are two aspects to the assessment of training. These are:
- Assessing competence to do the job.
Responsibility for this lies with the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) and is achieved by:- assessing specific knowledge (through the Part A examination)
- assessing the ability successfully to apply knowledge to carry out the functions of public health - 'shows how' competence (through the Part B examination) and in work assessment by public health accredited trainers.
- The assessment of satisfactory progress in the training programme.
Responsibility for this lies with employing deaneries and is achieved through:
Remediation
A normally progressing trainee would expect to complete specialty public health training within five years (whole time equivalent). However, some trainees will progress more slowly and may require targeted support.
Remediation is tailored to the individual and to the particular milestone or learning outcome causing difficulty.
Principles are:
- early identification of difficulty and particular need;
- focused support to address identified need;
- regular monitoring and feedback to avoid surprises;
- appropriate evidence of progress which supports all decisions taken.
Remediation is particular to the trainee and will be under the overall direction of the Training Programme Director (TPD). The educational supervisor will be pivotal in targeting remediation.
Assessments are carefully and fully integrated and problems may be identified at any time in training. There are also specific checkpoints at which the need for remediation may be identified. These include examinations, regular work based assessments and RITA/ARCP.
