Addressing Assessment in Libyan Medical Education

Assessment is a powerful driver of student learning: it gives a message to learners about what they should be learning, what the learning organisation believes to be important, and how they should go about learning. Assessment tools allow measurement of student achievement and thereby give teachers insight into their students' learning, and enable teachers to make systematic judgements about progress and achievement. It is vital then that assessment tools drive students to learn the right things as well as measure student learning appropriately. Any attempts to reform curricula and teaching methods must consider the role of assessment in the learning process. Libyan doctors and medical students have been calling for changes to teaching and assessment methods at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. A team from the Academic Centre for Medical Education at University College, London have been running workshops in conjunction with the Libyan Board of Medical Specialties since 2006 to discuss strategic aims of assessment in medical education in Libya for the 21st century and to deliver an assessment skills course to Libyan educators. This article outlines the course and the outcomes of preliminary discussions between academics from the UK, participants in the assessment courses and representatives from the Libyan Board of Medical Specialties. As a result of these discussions it was agreed by all that Libyan Medical School assessment methods need updating and, despite significant challenges, changes in assessment must be made as soon as possible. There is a real need for support in both addressing these changes and for practical training for assessors in contemporary assessment methods.