Progressive assessment and workplace-based assessment program guide

The RACGP WBA program

WBA competencies

Last revised: 19 Jan 2023

WBA competencies

The progressive assessment framework recognises that individual registrars develop competencies at different rates and at different stages. For this reason, all assessments in the WBA program are criterion referenced, allowing registrars to demonstrate progress over time and at different rates against defined criteria that describes the performance expected at the level of Fellowship.1

The defined endpoint is the point at which a doctor is deemed competent for unsupervised practice in Australia – the RACGP standard for Fellowship. All assessments in the WBA program after the EASL will be rated against the standard for Fellowship.

The Curriculum and syllabus is a key instrument in WBA. Its seven core units represent the knowledge, skills and attitudes expected of all Australian general practitioners. They include the five domains of general practice together with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and rural health units. Within the five domains of general practice there are fifteen core competencies that describe what is expected of a competent GP.

Specific WBA competencies have been developed and described to enable assessment in the workplace.6 These WBA competencies have been mapped to the core competency framework (core competencies and core competency outcomes of the Curriculum and syllabus) and span all five domains of general practice, incorporating several competency outcomes. The WBA competencies focus on the clinical consultation, including clinical and therapeutic reasoning as well as areas that are often not adequately assessed by the Fellowship exams, such as professionalism, general practice systems and regulatory requirements.1

Within each WBA competency there are performance descriptors outlining what is expected at the level of Fellowship, the point at which the registrar is ready to demonstrate competence for unsupervised practice in Australia. Performance descriptors outlining observable behaviours as the registrar progresses from substantially below the expected standard through to the standard expected at Fellowship are provided to guide assessors and provide narrative anchors for rating performance and providing feedback during in-practice assessments.1

  1. RACGP Standards for general practice training – Standard 3.2, AMC Standard 5
  2. RACGP Standards for general practice training – Standard 1.1, AMC Standard 5
  3. RACGP Standards for general practice training – Standard 1.3, AMC Standard 5
  4. RACGP Standards for general practice training – Standard 2.3, AMC Standard 5
  5. RACGP Standards for general practice training – Standard 2.1, AMC Standard 5
  6. AMC Standard 5.2.1
  7. AMC notes – Direct observation of registrars with real or simulated patients should form a significant component of the assessment.
  8. RACGP Standards for general practice training – Standard 1.1 – Guidance: The supervisor conducts and records the assessment activities and other means of determining a registrar’s competencies during their time in placement.

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