Abstract
It is perhaps not surprising that an innovative project such as ISCP should face challenges in its early phase. The paper by Pereira and Dean 1 reiterates many of the already well-described issues that currently surround the ISCP, but contributes little by way of constructive comment. In particular they appear to have misunderstood the purpose of the on-line assessments, which are essentially feedback tools to guide and direct training, rather than summative competency-based assessments, although they may not be alone in this regard. Having said that, a line-by-line disassembling of their paper, including its many factual inaccuracies, however tempting, would be equally unconstructive, and we would prefer to look forward to how the problems with ISCP are currently being addressed.
In the two years since the launch, the ISCP team has continually been utilizing user feedback, obtained through a wide range of sources, to modify and improve both user interface and the programme utility. Modifications to on-line assessments have been made on the basis of constructive feedback and an active programme of faculty development is helping surgical trainers become familiar with the assessments and other aspects of the ISCP.
In recognition of the need to continue with the programme of improvements, the ISCP has organized a trainees feedback day, to take place on 11 September. A wide and inclusive range of trainees has been invited to join the ISCP team, and work collaboratively towards developing the next version (version 6) of the ISCP which will be launched by the end of 2009. We can look forward to further developments and improvements in the near future as the ISCP goes into partnership with OCAP, and good practice will be shared between the two programmes.
Pereira and Dean are, however, quite right to draw our attention to the Eraut Report 2 into the implementation phase of the ISCP, but should ensure that they draw the right conclusions from it and report them accurately. The report actually concluded that the potential benefits of an improved system for surgical training were in danger of being negated by the many other changes taking place in the training environment and the NHS. The JCST is currently undertaking a wide-ranging consultation in order to identify practical methods to restore high quality surgical training. During these challenging times, it is important to resist the temptation to ‘throw out the baby with the bathwater’. Instead we would like to reassure the authors as well as all users of ISCP that ‘constructive [our italics] criticism by trainees and trainers alike will be heeded by the developers’ and that the ‘versatility and usability of the ISCP will continue to improve’.
Footnotes