TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT IN THE CONSULTATION - A WORKSHOP FOR GENERAL-PRACTICE CLINICAL TEACHERS

A faculty development programme for general practice clinical teachers offered a skills development workshop which specifically addressed th e skills needed when teaching and assessing students consulting with p atients. The course was sequential, that is, a group moved on to a new skill only when its members could demonstrate mastery of a lower-orde r skill. Participants practised skills and received feedback on their performance from peers and learners (students and trainees). Participa nts comments about the course were highly favourable and the majority foresaw a general improvement in their own personal consultation skill s as a result. They recognized that the use of a valid and reliable se t of criteria (the Leicester Assessment Package) was essential in orde r to make correct judgements about consultation performance before ins tituting remedial teaching.