Self-Assessment: The Disconnect between Research and Rhetoric

Abstract

Purpose: Physical therapists are expected to engage in self-assessment in order to ensure competent practice and to identify appropriate professional development activities. Summary of Key Points: This paper reviews the current literature on the accuracy and role of self-assessment in physical therapy. Current literature indicating that self-assessment cannot be conducted with any degree of accuracy is discussed, and a proposed reformulation of the concept of self-assessment is presented. Recommendations: Practical strategies are offered for clinicians to improve the potential for obtaining reliable and valid information about their own clinical performance to guide the selection of appropriate professional development activities and to promote the provision of competent patient care.Key Words: accuracy, clinical competency, physiotherapy, professional development, self-assessment Miller PA. Self-assessment: the disconnect between research and rhetoric. Physiother Can. 2008;60:117-124. RÉ SUMÉObjectif : Les physiothé rapeutes sont appelé s à effectuer une autoé valuation afin d'assurer une pratique compé tente et d'identifier les activité s de perfectionnement professionnel approprié es. Re´sume´des points cle´s : Cet é crit passe en revue la documentation actuelle sur l'exactitude et le rô le de l'autoé valuation en physiothé rapie. On traite de la documentation actuelle attestant que l'autoé valuation ne peut ê tre effectué e avec exactitude, et on pré sente une reformulation proposé e. Recommandations : Des straté gies pratiques sont offertes afin de permettre aux cliniciens d'amé liorer leur potentiel d'obtenir des renseignements fiables et valides à propos de leur propre performance clinique. Cela permettrait de guider la sé lection d'activité s de perfectionnement professionnel approprié es et de promouvoir la prestation de soins compé tents aux patients.

Students’ Assessment and Self-assessment of Nursing Clinical Faculty Competencies

“…6,7 Therefore, health care professionals must search for external sources of information about their competencies and performance to supplement their own self-assessments. 8 Self-assessment is a systematic and transparent process of analyzing one's own practices to improve the professional development of students, CF, and the entire organization. 9 A combination of self-assessment and assessment of CF competencies is necessary to ensure an effective clinical education.…”

A Qualitative Study of Workplace Factors Influencing Expertise in the Delivery of Children’s Education and Mental Health Services

“…Although there are limits to the utility of self-assessment measures [29], measures providing scores that can be compared with others or over time may be very useful. Experts may benefit more from these tools than novices, perhaps because they are more predisposed toward self-reflection; alternatively, novices may benefit more from the guidance and insight provided by these tools [11].…”

“…For example, the literature on learning in health and social care indicates the importance of a supportive, no-blame culture [29], learning supports and opportunities [30], and informal, situated learning arising through experience [31]. Similarly, the literature on teacher development indicates the importance of a supportive and collaborative school culture [27,32] and informal learning in the workplace [28].…”

Investigating the efficacy of practical skill teaching: a pilot-study comparing three educational methods

“…Students can work through video-based tutorials at their own pace, pausing or replaying the resource. However, video-based tutorials do not provide opportunity for students to ask questions of the tutor, provide real-time feedback from the tutor, and offer limited information on benchmark of performance that can assist students to overcome barriers of self-assessment (Miller 2008).…”