Learning In Practice
Reassuring evidence on competency based selection
BMJ 2005; 330 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.330.7493.714 (Published 24 March 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;330:714
- Maureen E Crawford (Maureen.crawford@nimdta.gov.uk), associate director1
- 1 Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, Belfast BT8 7RS
Patterson et al provide reassuring evidence on the predictive validity of competency based selection.1 A fair, valid, and feasible selection method for entry to training for general practice is vital to maximise the effectiveness of training and to minimise failure in summative assessment, currently costing about £40 000 ($76 564; €57 958) per doctor given an extension of training.
The paper answers two important questions: do methods at an assessment centre predict performance in identified competencies and do candidates selected by the three part competency based process perform better than candidates selected by other methods?
The answer …