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Make it work for your students – How to adapt formative assessment resources across international borders

Conference Workshop

Presentation Description

Tim Vincent1
Bradley Williams2, Nadia Mahmood1, Chee Yeen Fung3, Sam Brandsema2, David Howlett1, Lizzi Shires2, Amir H. Sam3 and Malcolm Reed1
1 Brighton and Sussex Medical School
2 University of Tasmania
3 Imperial College School of Medicine 



Background 
Most medical education assessment resources are developed for institutional or national audiences with limited international exchange despite a large overlap in content. Sharing educational resources between institutions internationally is an excellent opportunity to pool knowledge and expertise globally whilst also maximising the use of highly quality-assured educational materials. 

Capsule is a case-based formative assessment resource developed by the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) in 2015. The mobile app and web platform delivers clinical scenario- based learning across the whole UK undergraduate medicine curriculum. It is widely used across the UK to support medical students in applying medical knowledge to clinical practice[1,2]. The cases are exclusively developed and quality-assured by senior medical educators in the UK. 

In 2022, BSMS entered a collaboration with the University of Tasmania (UTAS) to adapt existing Capsule cases for Australian medical students. The joint venture has revealed the possibilities and challenges of successfully adapting formative assessment content to meet the needs of local curricular and health contexts. 

Following the experience of adapting assessment cases for Australia, Capsule has continued to work internationally to develop educational resources for Rwanda, Singapore, Ireland and Ukraine. 


Why is the topic important for research and/or practice? 
High-quality formative assessment tools for undergraduate trainees are available and sharing these across international borders can cost-effectively maximise the global expertise and educational value across the medical education community. However, it does take expertise and time to analyse where content differs between countries and to adapt it appropriately and efficiently. Sharing our experience of adapting an established high-quality, formative 

assessment resource ('Capsule') between the UK and Tasmania will provide real-life insight into the opportunities and challenges of these processes, and further explore how these methods can be implemented in local contexts across the world. 


Workshop format, including participant engagement methods 
Participants will gain practical insight into the realities of adapting formative assessment cases to their local contexts and curricula. The workshop will provide them with the opportunity to explore and practise the process of adapting assessment items for their own nation in small groups. This will be followed by an opportunity to feedback, reflect, and learn from the range of experiences in the wider group and to apply these to formative assessment practice in their own contexts. 


Who should participate? 

Medical educators who are interested in: 

  • International collaboration for medical education resources 

  • Cost-effective medical education resource development 

  • Digital assessment and learning tools for undergraduate healthcare students 


Level of workshop (beginner/intermediate/advanced) 

  • Beginner, intermediate and advanced 


Take-home messages / workshop outcomes / implications for further research or practice 

  • Medical education and assessment resources often contain content which are internationally generalisable. 

  • Participants will practically explore how these education resources can be reliably adapted for local health contexts. 

  • The methodology can be adopted by medical schools internationally to cost-effectively share formative assessment resources across borders. 



References (maximum three)

1. Sadler J, Wright J, Vincent T, Kurka T, Howlett D. What is the impact of Apps in medical education? A study of CAPSULE, a case-based learning App. BMJ 

Simul Technol Enhanc Learn. 2020 Sep 24;7(5):293-296. doi: 10.1136/bmjstel-2020- 

000593. PMID: 35515743; PMCID: PMC8936662.
 2. Karunaratne D, Karunaratne N, Wilmot J, Vincent T, Wright J, Mahmood N, Tang A, 

Sam AH, Reed M, Howlett D. An Online Teaching Resource to Support UK Medical Student Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Account. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2021 Nov 13;12:1317-1327. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S337544. PMID: 34803422; PMCID: PMC8599888. 

Speakers