Home >> Education >> Residency Program >> Assessing Resident Performance

Assessing Resident Performance

"The normal curve is a distribution most appropriate to chance and random activity. Education is a purposeful activity and we seek to have students learn what we would teach. Therefore, if we are effective, the distribution of grades will be anything but a normal curve. In fact, a normal curve is evidence of our failure to teach."

Benjamin Bloom

Medical education research demonstrates that the reliable assessment of
knowledge, clinical skills and attitudes of trainees is a complex, multi-factorial process. Our program has strengthened its overall approach in recent years to reflect growing emphasis on educational outcomes, observation of clinical performance, and timely feedback to resident trainees. Effective assessment contributes greatly to the purposeful activity of teaching residents.

Within our program, educational objectives have been developed for each required rotation and for each PGY level. For elective rotations, residents submit objectives for approval by the Education Committee. These educational objectives define the criteria by which residents successfully complete each rotation and advance to the next academic level.

At the beginning of each rotation, residents and faculty are provided with a rotation- specific curriculum package including detailed learning objectives for that rotation. This initial meeting is followed by a mid-rotation meeting whereby residents and faculty discuss progress during the rotation and needed adjustments. Finally, at the end of each rotation faculty formally evaluate the residents on the extent that they have met the educational objectives of that specific rotation. The Program Director reviews all completed performance evaluations and meets with the resident as
necessary.

Consistent with principles of adult learning, residents are invited to be proactive participants in the evaluation process. This is intended to be a collegial, collaborative process. Residents are given formative feedback daily through interaction with the assigned attending. It is the joint responsibility of attending physicians to provide feedback to the resident, and of the resident to ask for feedback. Good performance is enhanced by all parties commitment to providing feedback on a continuing basis.

Summative feedback is provided through a written and/or web-based
evaluation system as follows:

• End of Rotation Evaluation by faculty
• PM&R Mini-CEX by faculty
  (see http://www.mc.uky.edu/pmr/1stpage.asp for further information)
• Biannual Evaluation of Resident Performance by Program Director
• ABPM&R Anniversary Evaluation
• Senior performance review with Program Director
• Annual AAPM&R Self-Assessment Examinations
• Annual AAEM Self-Assessment Examinations (PGY-4s only)
• 360 degree evaluation

Other assessment methods are currently being developed, in order to address the requirements related to the ACGME's Six General Competencies.

The Program Director and faculty mentor are available to provide counseling to help residents deal with career choice and/or other issues related to participation in the training program. Residents also are expected to provide feedback to faculty on their teaching skills, as well as on the overall residency program.