title: Surgical Trainers' Experience and Perspectives on Workplace-Based Assessments.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Workplace-based assessments (WBAs) were designed to provide formative feedback to trainees throughout their surgical career. Several studies highlight dissatisfaction with WBAs, and some feel they lack validity and reliability and exist as a "tick-box exercise." No studies have looked at the attitudes of the assessor.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate perceptions and experience of the 4 intercollegiate surgical curriculum programme WBAs by assessors.
  
  
  METHODS
  An 18-item electronic questionnaire, including 6-point Likert scoring questions, was e-mailed to all surgical program directors for distribution to general surgery trainers within their deanery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 64 responses were received. All trainers had been trained in using WBAs. Trainers had the most experience with procedure-based assessments (PBAs)-72% of trainers had completed more than 25 PBAs. Trainers felt PBAs were the most beneficial WBA, and both PBAs and case-based discussions were regarded as significantly more useful than mini-clinical evaluation exercise (p < 0.05). More than 74% stated that WBAs were mainly initiated by trainees, and only 10% had specific sessions allocated to complete WBAs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WBAs are regarded as beneficial to trainees. The results suggest that assessors feel case-based discussions and PBAs, which assess higher thinking and practice of complex practical skills, respectively, are significantly more useful than assessments involved in observing more straightforward clinical and procedural interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. Electronic address: awphillips@doctors.net.uk.
authors.forename: Alexander W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anantha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Madhavan
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lucy R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bookless
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David A L
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Macafee
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003479:Curriculum; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005246:Feedback; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace
keywords: Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; case based discussion; direct observation of procedural skills; formative assessment; intercollegiate; mini clinical evaluation exercise; procedure based assessment; workplace based assessments