What Is Mini-CEX?
This is a 15 minute snapshot of a single doctor/patient interaction. It is designed to assess the clinical skills, attitudes and behaviours essential to providing high quality care. It will only ever be done in hospital posts (in GP posts, we do COT instead).
The Process
What Do You Mean "Each a Different Clinical Problem"?
The following are categories on the assessment form. This should give you some idea.
1. Pain 2. Airway/Breathing 3. CVS/Circulation 4. Psych/Behav 5. Neuro 6. Gastro 7. Other
Okay, I Got That... So, What Do You Mean "Sample A Wide Range Of Problem Groups"?
The assessor decides what aspect ( or problem) of the clinical encounter (s)he is going to focus on. This might be:
1. History 2. Diagnosis 3. Management 4. Explanation
And What Will I Be Graded On? Give Us More Of A Clue...
The types of things you will be graded on will depend on the focus of the clinical encounter mentioned above. So, you'll be graded on some of the following
1. History Taking 2. Physical Examination Skills 3. Communication Skills 4. Clinical judgement 5. Professionalism 6. Organisation/Efficiency 7. Overall clinical care 8. Anything else that is especially good will also be noted
Can I Ask What The Grading Marks Are?
Of course you can! For each competency assessed, you'll be given one of the following grades:
* Insufficient evidence * Below expectations * Borderline for completion * Meets expectations for completion * Above expectation
A mark of "insufficient evidence" is always awarded to those competencies that were not tested on this occaison. However, future cases may need to be selected to help you demonstrate these.
Who's Gonna Assess Me?
The mini-CEX may be observed by
* staff grades * experience specialty registrars or * consultants
But there must be a different observer on each occasion. The evidence will be rated and recorded in the e-portfolio. Immediate feedback will be provided to the trainee by the observer which will hopefully result in a mutually agreed action plan. |
