Trainees are dissatisfied with the “tick box” nature of the annual review of competence progression (ARCP), researchers have found | BMJ
Researchers from UCL Medical School surveyed 96 trainees and 41 trainers about their perceptions of the validity of the ARCP. They found that there was “general dissatisfaction with ARCPs, especially among UK graduates,” and although trainers tended to view the process more positively they did voice negative views.
The paper, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, said, “ARCPs were described as a ‘tickbox exercise’ in 27 of the 65 interviews and focus groups; this was generally a criticism of populating the e-portfolio. ARCPs were felt to test clerical ability rather than clinical ability which some believed were inversely correlated.”
One of the authors of the paper, Rowena Viney, said that trainees found ARCPs most useful when they had a good relationship with their trainer, and when their trainer showed interest in their progress and completed paperwork on time.
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