Assessing students' personal and professional development using portfolios and interviews

Abstract

Sustained PPD is essential in equipping doctors for the varied stresses of careers in medicine. Despite, or perhaps because of, the latitude in the Year 1 assessment, both students and faculty members found the process of value. This form of assessment acknowledges that the most valid assessment formats cannot always be made reliable and that in some parts of the curriculum it is more important to demonstrate trust in students' own motivation to become competent and mindful practitioners. The fact that the portfolio and interview are the only summative assessments in the first year emphasises the importance that the Faculty places on PPD.