A seven-year review (2011-17) of the work-based assessment component of Malta’s Specialist Training Programme in Family Medicine

Background: Work-based assessment (WBA) within Malta’s Specialist Training Programme in Family Medicine is recorded using the ‘One-to-One Appraisal’ form in the General Practitioner (GP) Trainee Educational ePortfolio. -- Objectives: The postgraduate training coordinators in family medicine review the above annually to see where the WBA is operating well and to identify where improvements are required. -- Method: The ‘One-to-One Appraisal’ involves the completion of a scoring system (selecting one score from ‘needs further development’: 1-2-3; ‘competent’: 4-5-6; and ‘excellent’: 7-8-9) for twelve competency areas. The educational portfolio is reviewed using objective requirements listed in the form ‘Review of the GP Trainee Educational Portfolio’. -- Results: The review of educational portfolios revealed commendable practices including detailed educational plans and case-logs, a general trend of adherence to time frames, and high attendance rates for group-teaching sessions. While One-to-One Appraisal documents were filled in satisfactorily, the issue of remarkably high average scoring was encountered. Moreover disparities were seen between scores and comments in some of the ‘GP trainee interim review by GP trainer’ forms. Deficiencies were outlined in clinical supervision time, mainly during family medicine government placements, while incomplete adherence to placement requirements was noticed. -- Conclusion: A significant amount of quality work was carried out by the GP trainees under their trainers’ supervision. Two main areas of improvement were however outlined – the need for refining the GP trainers’ score allocation and the importance of regular review of the portfolio by both trainees and trainers, with the prompt flagging of persisting unresolved issues to the training coordinators.peer-reviewe

Laemanctus serratus

Number of Pages: 5Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Work-based assessment within Malta’s specialist training programme in family medicine

The Specialist Training Programme in Family Medicine (STPFM) – Malta was drawn up by the Malta College of Family Doctors in 2006, approved by Malta’s Specialist Accreditation Committee, and launched in 2007 by the Primary Health Care Department and the Malta College of Family Doctors. This article regarding the work-based assessment of specialist training in family medicine in Malta was prepared by consulting various local / international documents and publications that are related to general practice / family medicine and its teaching, appraisal and assessment. Assessment of family doctors should consider their actual performance of different tasks in diverse settings of daily practice; this is carried out on-site by direct observation of the practitioner at the work-place (work-based assessment) using different methods.peer-reviewe

Specialist training in family medicine in Malta during 2007-2012 : a comparative evaluation of the first and fifth years of the programme

As a result of Malta’s entry to the European Union in 2004, Family Medicine was recognised as a speciality and subsequently a three-year programme of Specialist Training was launched in 2007 by the Primary Health Care Department and the Malta College of Family Doctors. By 2012, three cohorts of GP trainees had completed the training programme. Evaluation is important in ensuring quality and success in provision of teaching programmes in general, and family-doctor training in particular. While evaluation and improvement of the programme is performed on an ongoing basis, a comparison of the trainees’ evaluations of the first (2007-8) and fifth (2011-2) years of the training programme was carried out in order to identify areas where consolidation or further improvement was needed. Evaluation forms are completed by trainees after each post in family or hospital practice and after each group-teaching session. The information from these forms is transcribed into MS Excel to enable quantitative and qualitative analysis. The feedback given during the period 2007 – 2008 was compared with that given during 2011 – 2012. During the first and fifth years of the training programme, GP trainees were 80-90% satisfied with the effectiveness of the training provided during the family practice posts, and over 90% satisfied with the presentation, content and relevance of the teaching provided during the group teaching sessions. Their overall satisfaction with the effectiveness of training in the other specialities improved from 53-92% to 65-95%. While GP trainees’ satisfaction with their training generally remained high or improved, specific areas were identified in family medicine and hospital placements where changes for improvement are merited.peer-reviewe

Laemanctus longipes

Number of Pages: 4Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Laemanctus

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Statistical Analysis of Project Pyro Liquid Propellant Explosion Data

Statistical regression analysis of Project Pyro cryogenic propellant explosion test dat

Experiments shed new light on nickel-fluorine reactions

Isotopic tracer experiments and scale-impingement experiments show fluorine to be the migrating species through the nickel fluoride scale formed during the fluorination of nickel. This is in contrast to nickel oxide scales, where nickel is the migrating species

Auditing the auditors: oversight or overkill?

A growing number of high-profile companies have had to restate their earnings at substantially lower levels to correct the prior use of "aggressive" and even fraudulent accounting practices. Because the companies’ auditors approved the original reports, policymakers have questioned the capacity of public accounting firms to promote fair financial reporting. In response, recent legislation has instituted several reforms, including the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which together with the Securities and Exchange Commission will investigate alleged lapses in accounting practices. But how much oversight is really necessary? Jeffery Gunther and Robert Moore examine recent events in the light of research findings. Based on this analysis, they conclude that market forces have tended, over time, to shape the role of auditors to match or correspond to the needs of investors in monitoring individual companies’ performance. Despite current sentiment to the contrary, substantial government involvement in the business of auditing appears to be needed only when other types of government intervention, such as bank deposit insurance, have already disrupted market-based incentives for effective audits. In the more typical situation, both government and industry policymakers should avoid restrictive measures that unnecessarily increase audit costs, instead taking into account market forces’ successful track record in disciplining ineffective auditors and promoting an effective audit function.>Securities and Exchange Commission ; Accounting