1. <hospital name> <year>
Workplace based assessment
Orientation Resource for use with:
Doctors from the 2013 Bunbury Hospital WBA cohort
Doctors from the 2015 Kalgoorlie Hospital WBA cohort
<hospital name> <year>
Updated January 2016

3. What is workplace based assessment?
An alternative to the Australian Medical Council (AMC) Clinical Examination
Workplace based assessment (WBA) is currently implemented in some states and territories, overseen by members of the AMC Board of Examiners to ensure consistency in format and standards
Duration of the WA program is 12 months. The AHPRA supervised practice requirement is fulfilled during the assessment program

4. What does WBA mean for you?
Program of clinical assessment in everyday clinical practice settings with immediate feedback
Assessment is set at end-of-PGY1 (intern) level measured across six clinical areas:
Child Health
Women’s Health
Adult Health (Internal  Medicine)
Adult Health (Surgery)
Mental Health
Emergency Medicine
Supports achievement of end-of-PGY1 (intern) level across the six clinical areas

5. What is expected of you?
Responsibility to ensure you meet the program requirements:
Sufficient clinical experience across all areas
A minimum of 10 hours in each discipline before you can be assessed in that area
Completion of all assessments
WBA is based on adult (self-directed) learning principles so you are responsible for:
Pre-reading and sourcing clinical opportunities
Acknowledgement of own limitations and asking for help when needed
Acknowledgment that WBA is based on adult (self-directed) learning principles

6. What support is available?
<first and last name> – WBA program director
<phone number and/or >
Primary and secondary supervisors
<first and last name> – WBA administration officer
Employee Assistance Program OR
ges/default.aspx
Katrina Lynn – senior project officer
(08)

7. Role of support people WBA program director
Participates in the selection of candidates
Organises assessor training workshops
Orientates candidates to the hospital and the WBA program
Convenes and conduct the calibration workshops
Coordinates program delivery
Undertakes program evaluation at the site and coordinates candidate assessments in collaboration with the senior project officer (Katrina Lynn)

8. Role of support people Primary supervisor
Assigned to a candidate for the full 12-month program
Completes Self- Assessment and Personal Learning Plan with candidate
Monitors progress and provides support, advice and assistance where required
Prepares formative and summative reports and provides face to face feedback
Provides review of multi-source feedback results
Ensures all documentation is provided to WBA administration officer for secure storage in files

9. Role of support people Secondary supervisor
Assigned for duration of a rotation in a department
Monitors progress and provides support, advice and assistance where required
May assist in selection and preparation of cases for assessment
May act as an assessor for formative assessments and provide relevant feedback
Ensures all documentation is provided to the WBA administration officer for secure storage in the files

10. Role of support people Assessor
Conducts a direct or indirect assessment in a specific clinical area / skill / dimension
Completes the required assessment documentation and provides immediate feedback
May select case and/or patient to be assessed
Ensures patient consent has been obtained
Ensures clinical areas, skills and dimensions to be assessed are known and sufficient preparation time has been allocated

11. Role of support people Administrative officer
Provides administrative support to the Director of Clinical Training, the program director, the supervisors and candidates
Assists with organising the orientation of candidates to WBA
Arranges and coordinates the booking of rotations and placements for candidates
Assists candidates with booking assessments
Loads assessments to the AMC Portal
Works with the senior project officer to continually improve WBA at site level

12. What is assessed? Clinical dimensions Clinical judgement
Clinical skills
Communication skills
Ability to work as an effective member of the health care team (e.g. teamwork, honesty)
Ability to apply aspects of public health relevant to clinical settings
Cultural competence
Professionalism and attention to patient safety

13. What is assessed? Clinical skills History taking Physical examination
Investigations and diagnosis
Prescribing and management
Counselling/patient education
Clinical procedures

14. What assessments are undertaken?
Assessments loaded to the AMC portal:
2 summative and 1 final supervisor reports
24 direct and indirect assessments
1 Multi-Source Feedback
1 External Assessor Report
Other assessments (kept on file):
2 formative supervisor reports, with action plan for completion as required
5 self-assessments (formative, summative, final)
Repeat assessments (also provided to AMC)

15. Assessment methods - direct
Mini Clinical Examination (Mini-CEX)
Aims to assess a range of core competencies that a candidate uses during day-to-day encounters with patients
Online training on Mini-CEX can be completed at: program-outline-for-using-the-mini-cex-assessorsimgs/
Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS)
WBA candidates are observed by an assessor as they perform a procedure
NB: Please use only the Mini-CEX and DOPS assessment forms Katrina ed until you are notified that they have been updated online.

18. Assessment methods - direct
External Assessor Report
A measure against which all other assessment reports are calibrated.
Completed in the second half of the year
Following direct observation of the WBA candidate seeing patients in their workplace the external assessor will provide immediate feedback.
Assessment form available from:

19. Assessment methods - indirect
Case Based Discussion (CBD)
Structured, non-judgmental reviews of decision- making and clinical reasoning 
WBA candidates select three cases from patients they have managed and prepare neatly typed case notes
The assessor will select one of the three cases for the assessment
Online training on CBD can be completed at:
NB: Please use only the CBD assessment forms Katrina ed until you are notified that they have been updated online.

21. Assessment methods - indirect (cont.)
Multi Source Feedback (MSF or 3600)
Candidate performance is rated by a number of people, including self-assessment
Forms a collective assessment of how the candidate meets the AMC clinical and personal performance dimensions, including honesty and teamwork
Candidates select at least 10 colleagues with whom they have worked during the WBA program:
A collection of ratings from multiple sources, including self-assessment by the candidate
supervisors
interns
registrars
nurses
RMOs
allied health staff
consultants
ward and medical administrative staff

23. Online training on MSF can be completed at: http://wbaonline. amc. org
NB: Please use only the MSF assessment forms Katrina ed until you are notified that they have been updated online.

24. Assessment methods – indirect (cont.)
Supervisor assessments - summative
Completed following the supervisor’s observation of the candidate in the workplace, or after the supervisor has discussed the candidate’s performance with other members of the healthcare team
The supervisor will also review the self- assessment report with the candidate as part of this assessment
The self-assessment form allows supervisors to gauge the candidate’s awareness of their own strengths and limitations

25. Assessment methods – indirect (cont.)
Supervisor assessments – formative
Provide a valuable opportunity for candidates to gain feedback from their supervisor on their progress in the WBA program
Should be seen as a progress report which provides candidates with an opportunity to improve performance in preparation for the summative report
Highlight areas for further development or concerns through use of the Improving Performance Action Plan.

26. Assessment methods – indirect (cont.)
Supervisor assessment forms
Summative
Formative
Final

27. Assessment methods – indirect (cont.)
Supervisor reports - self assessment forms
Summative
cm.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/Files/Corporate/general%20docu ments/Workforce/PDF/Self_Assessment_Review_Form1.ashx
Formative
Final

28. Resources to assist with assessments
Learning resources specific to WBA in WA have been sourced and developed and can be accessed on the WA Health intranet site:
The required textbook for WBA is the AMC Anthology of Medical Conditions
A copy has been purchased for your hospital. You can also purchase your own copy through the AMC
Supervisors and assessors will be able to provide advice on other resources available for specific clinical areas

29. WBA passing standards
Candidates must achieve the following passing standards, set by the AMC, to successfully complete the requirements of WBA:

30. WBA passing standards
The passing standard for WBA assessments reflects the standard applied to Australian-trained doctors at the end of internship (PGY1).
Assessment
Rating scale
Application
Multisource feedback
5-point rating scale
0 = unable to assess
1 or 2 = unsatisfactory
3 = marginal
4 or 5 = satisfactory
A mean score of 3 or higher is normally required to pass, but any marginal scores will be reviewed in the context of the global scores. Any scores of 1 will lead to a fail.
Respondents are requested to provide additional information if they return a score of 1, 2, or 3 for any question, to enable an informed pass/fail decision, and to ensure that constructive feedback can be provided
Mini-CEX, DOPS, CBD
9-point rating scale
1, 2 or 3 = unsatisfactory
4, 5 or 6 = satisfactory
7 ,8 or 9 = superior
See table on page 5 of candidate’s guide for specific examples for Mini-CEX
Summative supervisor’s report
Improving Performance Action Plan
Clearly below the level expected
Borderline
Pass
Expected level
Clearly above the expected level
All summative supervisors’ reports must achieve a pass score. If one or more supervisor’s reports indicate that the required PGY1 standard has not been achieved, a review must be held.
Final supervisor’s report
Must achieve either expected level or clearly above the expected level
Prepared by the primary supervisor for the Medical Board of Australia and the AMC. Summarises progress through WBA.

31. Completing assessments on time
The WBA candidate checklist tracks progress through the program
An assessment schedule is developed by the program director and it is recommended that candidates follow this closely to ensure that assessments are completed on time.
It is recommended that candidates aim to complete all assessments within a nine month timeframe from commencement of the program to ensure that they are eligible to be reviewed by the AMC in the year of commencement.
Please read the Important Information for further details.

32. Important Information

33. Important Information

34. Important Information

35. Process for completed assessments
All completed forms are to be:
Signed by the supervisor/assessor and the candidate
Forwarded to the WBA program director for review and signature
Forwarded to the WBA administration officer for loading onto the AMC portal
NB: Please use only the Mini-CEX, CBD, DOPS and MSF assessment forms Katrina ed until you are notified that they have been updated online.
Other assessment forms (i.e., supervisor reports, external assessor report and self-assessment and personal learning plan) can be accessed from: applicants/International-medical-graduates-IMGs/Workplace-based-assessment

36. Review of Results
AMC requires results to be loaded to the AMC portal two weeks prior to the meeting.
It is suggested that you aim to complete all assessments by mid-October 2016.
The AMC will not accept any assessments after the cut-off time.
Dates for the AMC results meetings will be circulated once received.

37. AMC feedback
Assessors name, title and role to be included in each assessment form
A variety of assessors to be used – not one assessor to complete all assessments
Different assessments are not to be conducted on one patient
Do not use the same case type or condition for all assessments
Other WBA candidates cannot assess for Multi Source Feedback
When a task or requirement is not observed for any assessment the assessor must provide a reason why.

38. AMC feedback (cont.)
Only one case (out of the three selected) is considered in Case Based Discussion
DOPS must be procedural skills and not physical examination skills
DOPS assessors must be registered medical practitioners with four years of experience in the Australian healthcare environment (or equivalent AMC-designated environment)
Registered Nurses may also assess DOPS if they have the appropriate clinical assessment experience – Program Director to advise
DOPS forms must indicate what was being assessed (i.e., procedure or information), and should include comments from the assessor.

39. General AMC and WBA information
The hospital will invoice you directly for WBA fees.
Contact: <first and last name>, Medical Administration
The AMC will invoice you directly for their administration fee
An /letter will be sent by the AMC
Please update your contact details with the AMC. This is particularly important for ensuring you receive your AMC certificate at the end of the program – instructions for collection are sent via post!

40. Completing WBA assessments
During the orientation period:
If not already done so:
Read the Candidates Guide (updated 2015) and familiarise yourself with the requirements of WBA
Complete the modules at
Meet with your primary supervisor and complete the Self Assessment and Personal Learning Plan
Once completed, provide to the program director for review and signature
Provide to the WBA administration officer for scanning and filing
Where to from here?
As soon as possible, complete the Self Assessment and Personal Learning Plan in conjunction with your Primary Supervisor
As you rotate through the clinical areas, arrange for the Mini-CEX, DOPs and CBDs to be completed

41. Completing WBA assessments (cont.)
As you rotate through the clinical areas, arrange for someone to assess you for the Mini-CEX, DOPs and CBDs
Forward completed assessments to the program director for review and signature
Arrange for summative and formative reports using your individual timeline as a guide
Talk to the WBA team. They will assist you in arranging any direct or indirect assessments throughout the twelve month period

42. Key points
Be organised – Follow your assessment schedule/learning plan. WBA is self-directed, however if you think you are falling behind talk to the WBA team. They are there to support you!
Take note of the AMC feedback – your assessments will be returned if you do not follow this information!
Use the assessment forms ed to you by Katrina for Mini-CEX, DOPS, CBD and MSF.
Make sure the AMC has your correct/new address so you receive your AMC certificate on time!

43. Ask questions and enjoy your experience!!