Resident Performance on the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assesment Program and the Written Qualifying Examin
Journal of Academic Ophthalmology 2010, Volume 3, Number 1 11 Introduction The need to quantitatively assess resident perform-ance has been increasing within medical residency programs in the U.S. in recent years, driven by changes in the evaluation process of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Residency programs currently need to identify meas-urable learning objectives in six recently-instituted competencies: Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, Interper-sonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, and System-based practice. Programs must assess achievement of these objectives, and use the assess-ments for continuous improvement of both the resi-dency program and the individual resident's achieve-ment [1]. The ACGME explains the Medical Knowledge com-petency thus: Residents must demonstrate knowl-edge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and social-behavioral sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to patient care. [1] Some authors have suggested use of the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) for measuring the Medical Knowledge com-petency [2], and the ACGME includes national in-service examinations in its description of potential measures [3]. The OKAP was instituted in 1968 as a method of assessment of knowledge assimilation by ophthalmology residents [4]. Although the results of in-service examinations administered in other medical specialties have been correlated with performance on Resident Performance on the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program and the Written Qualifying Examination for Board Certification