The Teagle Foundation has released a book called Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment. The project brings together essays by experts in literature and assessment to suggest ways that teachers can measure student learning when it comes to less tangible outcomes.
Medical educators tend to think of their content as concrete. Learners, after all, must demonstrate their knowledge through national exams. But, in other ways, training medical students and residents resembles the teaching of literary studies. We hope learners gain empathy, professionalism, and the ability to “read” a patient. The suggestions in the book can help academic medical centers gauge their success in conveying these abstract qualities.
One model that may apply to the medical setting is the verified resume. Originally designed by the Department of Labor to emphasize skills training for the workforce, the six-item score card resonates with the goals of medical training. The verified resume includes measures of:
- responsibility
- team player
- listening
- creativity
- acquiring and evaluating information
- working with cultural diversity