What Do We Do?
Our office is responsible for assessment in the UME program, including the foundational phase assessment, the clinical immersion phase, and institutional assessments. Examples of processes managed and conducted by the Assessment Team include:
Multiple-Choice Question Exams (MCQ Exams)
The foundational phase uses MCQ exams to evaluate medical students' knowledge base and ability to apply clinical reasoning. The exam consists of two parts: a stem containing a problem or question and a set of options, one of which is correct.
ECE Entrustable Professional Activities (ECE EPA)
ECE (Early Clinical Experience) EPA is a formative assessment for students during their Early Clinical Experiences in the Clinical Skill courses. Its purpose is to facilitate student growth through coaching.
Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA)
The EPA assessments provide specific and actionable formative feedback to support medical students' growth and development. There are 13 Core EPAs, which represent the essential tasks of a medical student. Each EPA incorporates the competencies every student must demonstrate to graduate from the University of Minnesota Medical School. The Core EPAs consist of a shared set of clinical activities that residents must perform on their first day of residency. For more information about EPAs, please visit the EPA page by clicking the Assessment Page Button below.
Clinical Skills Assessments (CSA-R)
The CSA-R is a holistic assessment that rounds out what is to be assessed to ensure the graduation competencies have been addressed. Each CSA-R form contains five criteria, each with a 5-point rating scale, optional comment boxes for each criterion, an MSPE comment box, a Growth Comment box, and Attestations. For more information about CSA-Rs, please visit the CSA-R page by clicking the Assessment Page Button below.
Clinical Competency Assessment (CCA)
The CCA is a required institutional assessment in the M Simulation Center near the end of Year 3, when students have completed most of their core clerkships. It is a full-day, multi-station comprehensive OSCE designed to measure students' overall communication, history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, and patient management reasoning skills.
NBME Subject Exams (Shelf Exams)
Some core clerkships use National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject exams (a.k.a. Shelf Exams) as final exams. The Office of Assessment & Evaluation coordinates and proctors some of these exams. NBME subject exams will be proctored remotely using Zoom. Instructions will be emailed to students one week before the test date.
Specific instructions for the shelf exams and the clerkship requirements can be found on the Canvas pages for the following courses.
- MED 7500 Medicine
- NEUR 7510 Neurology
- OBST 7500 Obstetrics and Gynecology