FHML wins innovation prize Netherlands Association for Medical Education

On behalf of the medical programmes of FHML, Jan-Joost Rethans as programme director received the price for best education innovation 2017 from the Netherlands Association for Medical Education (NVMO) on Friday 17 November.

What is programmatic assessment?
Programmatic assessment is an innovative approach of assessments, where all assessments are embedded within a programme and are part of education and learning processes, as opposed to more traditional approaches where (isolated) assessments are used as a formal conclusion of education and learning. Programmatic assessment is, in other words, the holistic and systematic development of an assessment programme, in such a way that a culture of ‘assessment for learning’ is obtained, while ensuring that sound decisions are made based on extensive and varied information.

Jury report
The judges praised the consequent manner and level of detail in which the programmatic assessment in Maastricht has been developed. They called it a theoretically well-founded innovation, which also has impact on many other aspects of education and the programme. Furthermore, the judges noted that FHML is making significant progress with this innovation, and is therefore a pioneer and example in an area where other programmes are now taking their first steps. In the recent re-accreditation of the medical programmes the judging panel came to a similar conclusion. The panel described the programmatic assessment and the underlying theoretical/educational philosophy as ambitious and innovative, and thought it showed a forward-looking vision.

The NVMO education innovation prize is awarded twice a year to distinctive and broad innovations in medicine education. An important criterion is that the innovation has to be broadly documented and evaluated.