Perceptions of medical faculty regarding self assessment - A cross sectional study from a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Medical field requires the faculty development, because Quality of patient care is depending on the learning environment of physicians, they need good and effective teaching. Few studies have evidence that self-assessment can be improved by feedback, particularly video and verbal, and by providing explicit assessment criteria and benchmarking guidance. There was also some evidence that the least competent are also the least able to self-assess accurately. So there is a paucity of research demonstrating the effectiveness of these interventions in Indian context. The goal of this study is to fulfill this vital gap in the knowledge. Aim: To assess the perceptions of the teachers regarding self-assessment and its impact on self and student’s performance. Materials and methods: The study was a cross sectional study, conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. A total of 63 study participants were included in the study, after checking for compliance with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study participants were included in the study by convenient sampling. Results: A total of 63 faculties from various streams participated in the study. Majority (about 95%) of the faculty either agreed or strongly agreed that self-assessment is useful method and can improve the teaching skills. But the proportions of faculty who strongly agreed that teaching can have positive impact on student’s performance is relatively low (30.2%). In fact many (9.5%) of the faculty disagreed with this. common methods of self-assessment methods reported by 33 to 43 % of faculty. Videotaping were reported by 3 (4.8%) and other methods were reported by 7 (11.1%) of faculty members. Conclusion: Self-assessment is one of the good methods to assess and improve the teaching skills of faculty in medical field. Self-assessment also help full to improve planning, communication and also in career growth of medical faculty.