How are workplace-based assessments viewed by UK psychiatry trainees?

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the perceptions of UK psychiatry trainees (residents) towards workplace-based assessments (WPBAs) as formative learning tools. WPBAs are a new form of UK mandatory assessment. METHODS Two focus group interviews were held with psychiatry trainees at different stages of training in Cambridge, UK. RESULTS Trainees identified a number of opportunities and barriers of WPBAs as formative assessment tools, and gave suggestions for their further development. A key opportunity was the compulsion for supervisors to observe trainees in clinical practice, and to provide individually tailored feedback. Barriers to learning were ideological, such as the emphasis on grades rather than formative feedback; and practical, such as the time taken for assessments. Suggestions for development of WPBAs included redesigning the forms to incorporate more formative feedback, and improving training in WPBAs. CONCLUSION The perceptions of psychiatry trainees towards WPBAs are mixed and would benefit from further exploration.