Teaching and assessment in the consultation. A workshop for general practice clinical teachers

A faculty development programme for general practice clinical teachers offered a skills development workshop which specifically addressed the skills needed when teaching and assessing students consulting with patients. The course was sequential, that is, a group moved on to a new skill only when its members could demonstrate mastery of a lower-order skill. Participants practised skills and received feedback on their performance from peers and learners (students and trainees). Participants comments about the course were highly favourable and the majority foresaw a general improvement in their own personal consultation skills as a result. They recognized that the use of a valid and reliable set of criteria (the Leicester Assessment Package) was essential in order to make correct judgements about consultation performance before instituting remedial teaching.