The facility to link syllabus topics to WBAs is no longer available
20 October 2020
The Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) is moving away from competency-based assessment towards outcomes-based assessment as a result of new standards for curricula mandated by the GMC. The GDC is currently reviewing dental specialty curricula and a similar move is likely in the future. In readiness for the introduction of an outcomes-based surgical curriculum in 2021, the way that workplace-based assessments (WBAs) are displayed on the ISCP has changed for both surgery and dental surgery.
The facility to link syllabus topics to WBAs is no longer available and the review of WBAs by supervisors will require a more holistic judgement of the scope of practice necessary for the completion of training. Assigned Educational Supervisors will be encouraged to make a more rounded and holistic professional judgement of trainee capability with less need to verify syllabus detail than before. Summary information will still be available in the portfolio as illustrated in the figure below.
Because syllabus topics will not be the main focus of assessment in an outcomes-based curriculum, there will be no requirement to link syllabus topics to WBAs. Preparations for this change will mean the removal of the facility to link syllabus topics to WBAs from this August. The move to an outcomes-based curriculum aims to address the criticism of the emphasis placed on granular competence-based assessment and provide all those involved in training with the opportunity to focus more on the end product rather than the process of training.
Portfolio summary screenshot:
