Training and planning help us to avoid situations where we feel unprepared. In this perspective piece on workplace-based assessment (WBA) in Emergency Medicine, Nigel Moore shares his tips for assessing and providing feedback in the workplace for peers and colleagues. His tips to avoid feeling like an imposter include:
– Focus on the assessment at hand. Effort needs to be made to avoid influence from past experiences and performance.
– Be familiar with what is being assessed. This helps to keep feedback and assessment judgements relevant and accurate.
– Assessor calibration sessions. Make training and calibration a regular event with your assessor colleagues. This helps you to get used to sharing and justifying the information you use to make assessment decisions and how you interpret it.
Even if you feel uncomfortable at stating your concerns with the performance of a peer, Nigel encourages you to take the challenge by conducting WBAs. Keep it balanced and focus on the assessment. You may find that sharing your own experiences helps to start the feedback conversation. And both you and your peers may learn something – are you up for the challenge?
Moore, N. (2017), A guide to workplace‐based assessments for the new FACEM assessor. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 29: 104-105. doi:10.1111/1742-6723.12725