Western Australian
Workplace Based Assessment Program
Orientation Resource for use with:
http://www.overseasdoctors.health.wa.gov.au/doctors/wba.cfm
Doctors from the 2012 Bunbury Hospital WBA cohort
<hospital name> <year>
Doctors from the 2013 Bunbury Hospital WBA cohort
What is Workplace-based assessment?
 An alternative to the Australian Medical Council
(AMC) Clinical Examination
 Workplace Based Assessment (WBA) is currently
implemented in some states and territories,
overseen by members of the AMC Board of
Examiners to ensure consistency in format and
standards
 Duration of the WA program is 12 months. IMGs
enrolled in the program complete the supervised
practice requirement during the
assessment program
What does WBA mean for you?
 Program of clinical assessment in everyday
clinical practice settings with immediate
feedback
 Assessment is set at end-of-PGY1 (intern) level
measured across six clinical areas:
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Child Health
Women’s Health
Adult Health (Internal Medicine)
Adult Health (Surgery)
Mental Health
Emergency Medicine
What is expected of you?
 Responsibility to ensure you meet the program
requirements:
 Sufficient clinical experience across all areas
 A minimum of ten hours in each discipline before
you can be assessed in that area
 Completion of all assessments
 WBA is based on adult (self-directed) learning
principles so IMGs are responsible for:
 Pre-reading and sourcing clinical opportunities
 Acknowledgement of own limitations and asking for
help when needed
What support is available?
 <first and last name> – WBA Program Director
 <phone number and/or email>
 Primary and Secondary Supervisors
 <first and last name> – A/Administration Officer
 <phone number and/or email>
 Employee Assistance Program
http://wachs.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/index.php?id=3595 OR
https://healthpoint.hdwa.health.wa.gov.au/hr/staffsupport/Pa
ges/default.aspx
 Katrina Lynn – Senior Project Officer
 (08) 9222 4288
Role of support people
Program Director
 Participates in the selection of candidates
 Organises assessor training workshops
 Orientates candidates to the hospital and the WBA
program
 Convenes and conduct the calibration workshops
 Coordinates program delivery
 Undertakes program evaluation at the site and
coordinates candidate assessments in collaboration
with the Senior Project Officer (Katrina Lynn)
Role of support people
Primary Supervisor
 Assigned to a candidate for the full 12-month program
 Completes Assessment and Learning Plan with
candidate
 Monitors progress and provides support, advice and
assistance where required
 Prepares formative and summative reports and
provides face to face feedback
 Provides review of multi-source feedback results
 Ensures all documentation is provided to
Administration Officer for secure storage in files
Role of support people
Secondary Supervisor
 Assigned for duration of a rotation in a department
 Monitors progress and provides support, advice and
assistance where required
 May assist in selection and preparation of cases for
assessment
 May act as an Assessor for formative assessments
and provide relevant feedback
 Ensures all documentation is provided to the
Administration Officer for secure storage in the files
Role of support people
Assessor
 Conducts a direct or indirect assessment in a specific
clinical area / skill / dimension
 Completes the required assessment documentation
and provides immediate feedback
 May select case and/or patient to be assessed
 Ensures patient consent has been obtained
 Ensures clinical areas, skills and dimensions to be
assessed are known and sufficient preparation time
has been allocated
Role of support people
Administrative Officer
 Provides administrative support to the Director of
Clinical Training, the Program Director, the
supervisors and candidates
 Assists with organising the orientation of candidates
to WBA
 Arranges and coordinates the booking of rotations
and placements for candidates
 Assists candidates with booking assessments
 Loads assessments to the AMC Portal
 Works with the Senior Project Officer to continually
improve WBA at site level
What is assessed?
 Clinical Dimensions
 Clinical judgement
 Communication skills
 Ability to work as an effective member of the
health care team (e.g. teamwork, honesty)
 Ability to apply aspects of public health relevant
to clinical settings
 Cultural competence
 Professionalism and attention to patient safety
What is assessed?
 Clinical Skills
 History taking
 Physical examination
 Investigations and diagnosis
 Prescribing and management
 Counselling/patient education
 Clinical procedures
What assessments are undertaken?
 Assessments loaded to the AMC portal:
 2 summative and 1 final supervisor reports
 24 direct and indirect assessments
 1 Multi-Source Feedback
 1 External Assessor Report
 Other assessments (kept on file):
 2 formative supervisor reports, with action plan for
completion as required
 5 Self-assessments (formative, summative, final)
 Repeat assessments (also provided to AMC)
Assessment Methods - Direct
 Mini Clinical Examination (Mini-CEX)
 Aims to assess a range of core competencies that a
candidate uses during day-to-day encounters with
patients
 Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS)
 WBA candidates are observed by an assessor as
they perform a procedure
 External Assessor Report
 A measure against which all other assessment
reports are calibrated. Completed at end of year
http://intranet.health.wa.gov.au/medicalworkforce/imgworkplaceassess/assessment/direct_assessment.cfm
Assessment Methods - Indirect
 Case Based Discussion (CBD)
 Structured, non-judgmental reviews of decisionmaking and clinical reasoning
 WBA candidates select three cases from patients they
have managed and prepare neatly typed case notes
 The assessor will select one of the three cases for the
assessment
http://intranet.health.wa.gov.au/medicalworkforce/imgworkplaceassess/assessment/indirect_assessment.cfm
Assessment Methods - Indirect (cont.)
 Multi Source Feedback (MSF or 3600)
 Candidate performance is rated by a number of people,
including self-assessment
 Forms a collective assessment of how the candidate
meets the AMC clinical and personal performance
dimensions, including honesty and teamwork
 Candidates select at least 10 colleagues with whom
they have worked during the WBA program:
• supervisors
• interns
• registrars
• nurses
• RMOs
• allied health staff
• consultants
• ward and medical administrative staff
Assessment Methods – Indirect (cont.)
 Supervisor assessments - summative
 Completed following the supervisor’s observation
of the candidate in the workplace, or after the
supervisor has discussed the candidate’s
performance with other members of the
healthcare team
 The supervisor will also review the selfassessment report with the candidate as part of
this assessment
 The self-assessment form allows supervisors to
gauge the candidate’s awareness of their own
strengths and limitations
Assessment Methods – Indirect (cont.)
 Supervisor assessments – formative
 Provide a valuable opportunity for candidates to
gain feedback from their supervisor on their
progress in the WBA program
 Should be seen as a progress report which
provides candidates with an opportunity to
improve performance in preparation for the
summative report
 Highlight areas for further development or
concerns through use of the Improving
Performance Action Plan.
 Resource: Candidates Guide 2014
Resources to assist with assessments
 Learning Resources specific to WBA have been
sourced and developed and can be accessed on
the WBA intranet site:
http://intranet.health.wa.gov.au/medicalworkforce/resources/
 The required textbook for WBA is the AMC
Anthology of Medical Conditions
 A copy has been purchased for your hospital. You
can also purchase your own copy through the AMC
 Supervisors and Assessors will be able to provide
advice on other resources available for specific
clinical areas
WBA Pass Rates
 Candidates must achieve the following pass rates to
successfully complete the requirements of the WBA
program:
 Resource: Candidates Guide 2014
WBA Standards
 The passing standard for the WBA program reflects
the standard applied to Australian-trained doctors at
the end of PGY1.
 The Mini-CEX, DOPS and CBD report forms use a
9-point rating scale:
123
456
789
Unsatisfactory
Satisfactory
Superior
 Resource: Candidates Guide 2014
Completing assessments on time
 The WBA candidate checklist tracks progress through
the program
 An assessment schedule is developed by the Program
Director and it is recommended that candidates follow
this closely to ensure that assessments are completed
on time.
 It is recommended that candidates aim to complete all
assessments within a nine month timeframe from
commencement of the program to ensure that they are
eligible to be reviewed by the AMC in the year of
commencement.
 Please read the Important Information for further details.
Process for completed assessments
 All completed forms are to be:
 Signed by the Supervisor/Assessor and the
candidate
 Forwarded to the WBA Program Director for
review and signature
 Forwarded to the Administration Officer for
loading onto the AMC portal
 All Assessment and Report Forms can be
accessed and printed from the WBA intranet site:
http://intranet.health.wa.gov.au/medicalworkforce/imgworkplaceassess/home/
Review of Results
 AMC requires results to be loaded to the AMC
portal two weeks prior to the meeting:
 Cut-off for <month, year> meeting is
<month, date , year>
 The AMC will not accept any assessments after
the cut-off time
AMC Recommendations
 Assessors name, title and role to be included in
each assessment form
 A variety of assessors to be used – not one
assessor to complete all assessments
 Different assessments are not to be conducted on
one patient
 Do not use the same case type or condition for all
assessments
 Other WBA candidates cannot assess for Multi
Source Feedback
AMC Recommendations (cont.)
 Only one case (out of the three selected) is
considered in Case Based Discussion
 DOPS must be procedural skills and not physical
examination skills
 DOPS assessors must be registered medical
practitioners with four years of experience in the
Australian healthcare environment (or equivalent
AMC-designated environment)
 Registered Nurses may also assess DOPS if they
have the appropriate clinical assessment experience
– Program Director to advise
General AMC and WBA Information
 The hospital will invoice you directly for WBA
fees.
 Contact: <first and last name>, Medical
Administration
 The AMC will invoice you directly for their
administration fee
 An email/letter will be sent by the AMC
 Please update your contact details with the AMC.
 This is particularly important for ensuring you
receive your AMC certificate at the end of the
program – it is sent via post!
Completing WBA assessments
 As soon as possible, meet with your Primary
Supervisor and complete the Self Assessment and
Personal Learning Plan
 Once completed, provide to Program Director for
review and signature
 Provide to Administration Officer for scanning and
filing
 As you rotate through the clinical areas, arrange
for someone to assess you for the Mini-CEX,
DOPs and CBDs
 Forward completed assessments to the Program
Director for review and signature
Completing WBA assessments (cont.)
 Arrange for summative and formative reports
using your individual timeline as a guide
 The Administration Officer will assist you in
arranging any direct or indirect assessments
throughout the twelve month period
Enjoy your experience!!
Questions?