'We just don’t have the resources': Supervisor perspectives on introducing workplace-based assessments into medical specialist training in South Africa

Bibliographic Details
Title: 'We just don’t have the resources': Supervisor perspectives on introducing workplace-based assessments into medical specialist training in South Africa
Authors: Tasleem Ras, Louis Stander Jenkins, Colin Lazarus, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Richard Cooke, Flavia Senkubuge, Abegail N Dlova, Veena Singaram, Emma Daitz, Eric Buch, Lionel Green-Thompson, Vanessa Burch
Source: BMC Medical Education, Vol 23, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2023)
Publisher Information: BMC, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Collection: LCC:Special aspects of education
LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: Specialist medical education, Workplace-based assessment, Resource-constrained setting, Barriers and enablers, Learning environment, Feedback, Special aspects of education, LC8-6691, Medicine
More Details: Abstract Background South Africa (SA) is on the brink of implementing workplace-based assessments (WBA) in all medical specialist training programmes in the country. Despite the fact that competency-based medical education (CBME) has been in place for about two decades, WBA offers new and interesting challenges. The literature indicates that WBA has resource, regulatory, educational and social complexities. Implementing WBA would therefore require a careful approach to this complex challenge. To date, insufficient exploration of WBA practices, experiences, perceptions, and aspirations in healthcare have been undertaken in South Africa or Africa. The aim of this study was to identify factors that could impact WBA implementation from the perspectives of medical specialist educators. The outcomes being reported are themes derived from reported potential barriers and enablers to WBA implementation in the SA context. Methods This paper reports on the qualitative data generated from a mixed methods study that employed a parallel convergent design, utilising a self-administered online questionnaire to collect data from participants. Data was analysed thematically and inductively. Results The themes that emerged were: Structural readiness for WBA; staff capacity to implement WBA; quality assurance; and the social dynamics of WBA. Conclusions Participants demonstrated impressive levels of insight into their respective working environments, producing an extensive list of barriers and enablers. Despite significant structural and social barriers, this cohort perceives the impending implementation of WBA to be a positive development in registrar training in South Africa. We make recommendations for future research, and to the medical specialist educational leaders in SA.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1472-6920
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6920
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-023-04840-x
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/a7700120229c4045bd49b218d786b4c7
Accession Number: edsdoj.7700120229c4045bd49b218d786b4c7
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:14726920
DOI:10.1186/s12909-023-04840-x
Published in:BMC Medical Education
Language:English