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Objectives: This study was designed as a narrative systematic literature review of medical specialist trainees' perspectives of the assessment messages they receive in the context of clinical performance assessments. The aim of the study was to determine if trainees value the information they receive through the formats designed to promote their development and, if not, the reasons for this. Methods: The authors searched the ERIC, EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases for articles published up to 16 June 2018 that present original data on trainees' perspectives of the assessment messages they receive in the context of work‐based assessments (WBAs) and in‐training assessments (ITAs) used within their training programmes. All authors screened 938 abstracts and 139 full‐text articles were assessed after this. Descriptions of quantitative data and thematic analysis of qualitative data were used to present the opinions of trainees. Results: Thirty‐three articles met the inclusion criteria. Twenty‐six articles (79%) described trainees' perspectives in the context of WBA and the remaining articles referred to ITA formats. Wide‐ranging opinions were reported. The analysis categorised these into three themes: trainees value developmental assessment messages; trainees become disengaged when assessment messages are not developmental, and trainees' views depend on the environment, the assessor and themselves. Some trainees reported that the assessment messages were valuable and provided input on their performance to guide their development, but many disagreed. In particular, the trainee's own level of engagement with the assessments influenced his or her perspectives on the messages received. Conclusions: Trainees do not universally perceive that clinical performance assessments provide them with the valuable developmental input on their performance they were designed to do. Factors related to the environment, the assessor and themselves influence their perspectives. Through a narrative systematic review, the authors explore the disconnect between medical specialist trainees' valuing of the assessment messages they receive in clinical performance assessments and the assessments' value in helping trainees fulfill their potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The seemingly obvious claim that people prefer to keep mum about undesirable messages – termed 'the MUM effect' – was initially reported in the psychology literature in the 1970s. More recently, it has been discussed in contexts including performance appraisals and the reporting of unsuccessful projects in workplace settings, but only sparsely in educational ones. We wished to review the published literature on the MUM effect in order to understand the implications for clinical assessment. Methods: We performed a narrative literature review on the MUM effect and clustered findings together into three themes: those that describe what MUM behaviours look like, those that explore potential reasons for the MUM effect and those that consider factors that can influence MUM behaviours. Results: This paper summarises the extensive literature on the MUM effect, including its manifestations and modifiers and discusses how the effect may be used to consider issues faced by many clinical supervisors faced with delivering 'negative' assessment messages to trainees. Discussion: We suggest, that as a pervasive phenomenon, the MUM effect can both help to explain the difficulties that some assessors face when delivering undesirable messages (including feedback or ratings) and offer new insights in how to deal with such issues. This paper provides a narrative review of the the tendency to not disclose concerns during clinical supervision and offers insight into how knowledge of this phenomenon might inform assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives Although skin disease and skin cancers cause significant morbidity and mortality in Australia, limited time is dedicated to dermatology teaching in most medical courses. The aim of this study was to define the current state of dermatology teaching in Australian medical schools with a view to developing a national core curriculum for dermatology. Methods An electronic questionnaire was circulated to the dermatology teaching leads and relevant medical program coordinators of the 18 medical schools in Australia. Results Replies were received from 17 medical schools. Dermatology was included as part of the core curriculum in 15 schools. Time set aside for dermatology teaching varied, as reflected by the number of lectures delivered (0-21, mean 5, median 3) and minimum clinics attended (0-10, mean 1.2, median 0). Only four medical schools had a compulsory clinical attachment in dermatology. Furthermore, satisfying requirements in dermatology was mentioned in the university examination regulations in only six schools. Certain core learning outcomes were addressed in most schools, including the structure and function of the skin, common conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis and cutaneous malignancies. However, there were important omissions, ranging from common problems like dermatophyte infections and drug reactions to the recognition of dermatological emergencies. Conclusions These results are a compelling impetus to improve current standards of dermatology teaching, learning and assessment. The introduction of a national core curriculum would provide guidelines for dermatology teaching in medical schools, enabling the more effective utilisation of available time for key learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]