Knowledge-based assessment pilot project.

In recent years there has been a great deal of work within the Joint Committee on Higher Medical Training (JCHMT), the Royal Colleges and medical education in general to investigate and implement new methods of assessment. A successful pilot study of three methods of performance assessment for specialist registrars (SpRs) was completed by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) in 2004 and these methods are now being implemented. A JCHMT project, to pilot the use of knowledge-based assessment for SpRs, was run between 2004 and 2006, in partnership with specialist societies. The philosophy behind this second project lay in the expectations of patients, the public and the Government that specialists dealing with them have the appropriate knowledge of the specialty in which they practise as independent practitioners. The objectives of the project were: • to consider the reliability and validity of the proposed assessment method • to understand the practical implications of introducing knowledge-based assessment. Cardiology, dermatology, geriatric medicine and neurology introduced pilot assessments. A project board was established for each specialty, with representation from both the specialist advisory committee (SAC) and the relevant specialist society (British Cardiovascular Society, British Association of Dermatologists, British Geriatrics Society, and Association of British Neurologists).