Sandra Carr¹
1 The University of Western Australia 

There is an absence at present of a consistent framework for health humanities learning, teaching and assessment, and hence, little capacity for systematic evaluation within or across curricula. 

A scoping review of qualitative and mixed-methods studies that included the assessment of integrated health humanities curricula in pre-registration health professions education was completed. The review was extended by an exploration of the assessment principles applied in integrated health humanities education. 

Results 

Fourteen of 24 reviewed studies evaluated student learning achievement from the health humanities intervention. They evaluated the capacity of the health humanities curricula to enhance knowledge, or skills, or both - linking the intervention with the intended learning outcome. Only three studies evaluated the impact of the educational interventions on changing students’ behaviour. 

Three guiding principles surrounding the assessment of health humanities became apparent in the review. 1. Students engaged in the act of creation to demonstrate achievement of health humanities capabilities. 2. They always engaged with the object/prompt created through reflection and the articulation of reflective thought. 3. The assessment commonly explored values and beliefs that had informed the students perspective. These principles along with examples of assessment strategies used in health humanities education will be explored at presentation. 

These three guiding principles align with Mezirow’s transformative learning theory and offer educators some structure when designing assessment of integrated health humanities learning in health professions education. 

References (maximum three) 

Carr, S.E., Noya, F., Phillips, B. et al. Health Humanities curriculum and evaluation in health professions education: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ 21, 568 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-03002-1 

Carr, S.E., Harris, A., Scott, K. et al. InspirE5: a participatory, internationally informed framework for health humanities curricula in health professions education. BMC Med Educ 22, 490 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03551-z 

Karina Dancza¹
I-Ling Yeh¹
1 Singapore Institute of Technology 

This study explored the potential of Interactive Oral Assessments to develop graduate attributes, including critical thinking, professional communication, and collaborative skills, through authentic workplace simulation (Tan et al., 2021). The assessment was designed, implemented and evaluated in occupational therapy using a four-step Model to Build Authentic Assessment (Villarroel et al., 2018). 

The research captured the design, delivery, and evaluation of an Interactive Oral Assessment. Data was collected from 95 students, and six assessors. Qualitative data were analysed to explore faculty and students' experiences during the assessments. 

Findings revealed the Interactive Oral Assessment effectively reflected real-world expectations and promoted deep learning, offering a high-quality learning experience. The assessment was perceived as authentic and helping students gain professional knowledge and skills. 

To implement these assessments effectively, faculty should consider their familiarity with workplace contexts, flexibility in module design, facilitation skills, and support for students. The assessments were integrated into the learning cycle, providing opportunities to practice reasoning, reflection, inquiry, and collaborative skills. Faculty played a critical role in guiding discussions and providing immediate feedback during the assessments. Additionally, strategies like video feedback and peer evaluation were employed to support students' evaluative judgment (Tai et al., 2018). 

Authentic Interactive Oral Assessments hold promise as effective tools to develop critical skills and graduate attributes. 

Based on the study's outcomes, practical suggestions are offered for faculty to self-assess their readiness for implementing Interactive Oral Assessments. The positive outcomes and reflections on real-world expectations highlight the potential of these assessments for enhancing students' learning experiences and better preparing them for their future careers. Further research in this area could explore more extensive implementation and assess the long- term impact of Interactive Oral Assessments on students' overall skill development and career success. 

References (maximum three) 

Tai, J., R. Ajjawi, D. Boud, P. Dawson, and E. Panadero. 2018. Developing Evaluative Judgement: Enabling Students to Make Decisions about the Quality of Work. Higher Education 76 (3): 467–481. doi:10.1007/s10734-017-0220-3. 

Tan, C. P., Howes, D., Tan, R. K. W., & Dancza, K. M. (2021). Developing interactive oral assessments to foster graduate attributes in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2021.2020722. 

Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S., Bruna, D., Bruna, C., & Herrera-Seda, C. (2018). Authentic assessment: Creating a blueprint for course design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(5), 840-854. doi:10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396. 

Peih-ying Lu¹
Anna Shan Chun Hsu¹, Po-Chih Chang^1,2 and Hsin-Liang Liu²
1 Kaohsiung Medical University
2 Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital 

Medical professionalism and communication skills are core competencies for doctors. Despite these competencies' complexity, developmental and multi-faceted contextual nature, they are often assessed using checklists in clinical learning(1,2). This study examined how cultural competence, communication skills, and empathy are assessed through students’ reflective writing in a two-day Clinical Learning Through Extended Immersion in Medical Simulation(CLEIMS). Pre-/post-session surveys were used to cross-exam the results. 

During the 2021-2022 academic year, students in second-year clerkship(n=185) attended CLEIMS. In teams of 4-6, students rotated at 20–25-minute intervals through six stations with scenarios containing psycho-social-cultural contents. Students encountered situations such as breaking bad news to a waiting wife, caring for lone residing elderly. Students completed a pre-session survey related to professionalism and physician-patient communication, and a similar post-session survey and reflective writing assignment to share their feelings and experiences. 

A total of 163 reflective writings were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings showed students (i)described standardized approach used to communicate bad news; (ii)provided examples of how they empathized or failed to empathize with others; (iii)explained ways to interact with culturally diverse patients; (iv)identified their feelings/values and how these influenced decision-making. Students self-assessed survey data were cross-examined. Survey responses also reflected trends similar to the qualitative findings, which revealed students need more support and guidance. 

As professionalism and communication skills develop gradually throughout the learning spectrum, reflective writings allow teachers to conduct in-depth assessments and understanding of students' learning(3) and identify areas needing further guidance. A closer examination also manifested students' awareness of others' feelings and perspectives and some core elements of professionalism, such as cultural competence. Reflective writings create space for personal insight, and re-contextualization of students’ learning from different incidences, allowing teachers to give timely feedback. 

Reflective writing is an approach to understanding students' development of professionalism, and continuous feedback from educators is necessary. 

References (maximum three) 

1. Hawkins, R. E., Katsufrakis, P. J., Holtman, M. C., & Clauser, B. E. (2009). Assessment of medical professionalism: Who, what, when, where, how, and... why?. Medical teacher, 31(4), 348-361. 

2. Hodges, B., Paul, R., Ginsburg, S., & The Ottawa Consensus Group Members. (2019). Assessment of professionalism: From where have we come–to where are we going? An update from the Ottawa Consensus Group on the assessment of professionalism. Medical Teacher, 41(3), 249-255. 

3. Charon, R., & Hermann, N. (2012). Commentary: a sense of story, or why teach reflective writing?. Academic Medicine, 87(1), 5-7. 

Rachel Winter¹
Andy Ward¹
1 Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, Leicester Medical School 

Background
The benefits of enhancing practitioner empathy include better patient outcomes and improved job satisfaction for practitioners. Evidence suggests empathy can be taught and is an 'outcome for graduates' in the UK as stipulated by the General Medical Council. Despite this, empathy training at medical school is not mandatory and the extent to which students are given empathy- specific training and how this is assessed is unknown. 

Summary of work
A survey was developed through a consultancy and pilot process to ensure validity and reliability. Questions explored what empathy-focused training is offered and whether training is assessed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe survey findings and thematic analysis was used to explore free text comments. 

Results
Twenty-eight schools (response rate 70%) were included in the analysis. Twenty-six reported their undergraduate curriculum included some form of empathy-focused training. Over half of schools reported that training was evaluated with a variety of methods including via OSCE and reflective practice. One medical school reported using an empathy-specific tool to measure the impact of empathy-focused training. Thematic analysis revealed two overarching themes related to challenges associated with the development of empathy focused training and assessment and challenges with student and faculty engagement. All schools agreed empathy training should be on the undergraduate curriculum. 

Discussion
This is the first nationwide survey of empathy-focused training at UK medical schools. While some form of empathy-focused training appears to be provided on the undergraduate curriculum at most UK medical schools, empathy is rarely specifically assessed. 

Conclusion
Most medical educators do not feel their school does enough to promote empathy and the majority would like to offer more. 

Implications for further research
Further research to better define clinical empathy would support the identification of pedagogical approaches or tools to nurture student empathy and the most suitable means of assessing it. 

References (maximum three) 

Kelley JM, Kraft-Todd G, Schapira L, Kossowsky J, Reiss H. The influences of the patient- clinician relationship on healthcare outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(4):e94207. 

Winter R, Issa E, Roberts N, et al. Assessing the effect of empathy-enhancing interventions in health education and training: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. BMJ Open. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036471. 

General Medical Council. Outcomes for Graduates 2018. https://www.gmc-uk.org/- /media/documents/dc11326-outcomes-for-graduates-2018_pdf-75040796.pdf. Accessed 01 June 2022.