Strategic positioning of medical schools: An Australian perspective.

Key forces shaping medical education drive medical schools to make strategic choices to locate themselves in niches where they can make use of their resources effectively and efficiently. However, the concepts of strategy in higher education are highly contested issues due to the nature and complexity of the sector and the university, more so for medical schools which operate in an ever more regulated environment. Drawing on data from qualitative semi-structured interviews, this paper investigates the notion of strategic positioning in medical education.

The rationale for and use of assessment frameworks: improving assessment and reporting quality in medical education.

An assessment framework provides a structured conceptual map of the learning outcomes of a programme of study along with details of how achievement of the outcomes can be measured. The rationale for using frameworks to underpin the targeting of essential content components is especially relevant for the medical education community. Frameworks have the capacity to improve validity and reliability in assessment, allowing test developers to more easily create robust assessment instruments.

Developing outcomes assessments for collaborative, cross-institutional benchmarking: progress of the Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration.

Background: The Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (AMAC) began in 2010. This article charts the development of the collaboration over its initial years.

Aims: AMAC was instigated as a way of improving the quality of medical education through the recognition of the need for tools for comparison and evaluation of learning outcomes, acknowledgement of the need for high quality assessment, and to share expertise in these areas.

Establishing the criterion validity of the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT).

Context: This paper examines the criterion validity of the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), which has been used since 1996 in Australia and more recently in the UK and Ireland. The study provides evidence on the extent to which GAMSAT, in combination with grade point average (GPA) and interview scores, adds value to determining an individual's capability for medical study. The study responds to increasing demand for information on the validity of selection processes.

Is cancer risk associated with anger control and negative affect? Findings from a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To examine the associations between anger control and negative affect and the risk of five common cancers and total cancers. Possible associations between emotional states and the risk of cancer have long been postulated.

Methods: Prospective cohort study with average follow-up of 9 years.