Ipsative Assessment and Peer Feedback in an Orthopaedic Junior Doctor Teaching Programme: A Project Plan and Narrative Review of the Literature

The main aim of this study is to describe a plan for a project to introduce the use of formative ipsative assessment and peer feedback within an orthopaedic junior doctor teaching programme. These changes will ensure that students demonstrate objective progress and understand that they are making progress in their learning journey. It will also improve learner collaboration through the creation of communities of practice. Key stakeholders involved include the junior doctors, tutors, consultants, medical education department, research/audit department, and orthopaedic company representatives. Outcomes will be measured using a four-point Likert scale on Google forms digital portfolios for the domains of clinical knowledge, technical skills, communication, teamwork, and basic research skills. Progress will be audited at six-month intervals. Full project implementation will be within 6-12 months. A narrative review of relevant literature and theories of learning in relation to ipsative assessment and peer feedback within a clinical teaching context was also performed. The future of medical education will still contain large components of ipsative assessment. In addition, a problem-based collaborative learning approach is now utilized in many medical schools and peer feedback will become more frequently utilized as a part of this in future. The author looks forward to implementing this project successfully and anticipates that the knowledge/skills gained from this will be useful for any future career projects both within and outside medical education.