School hosts day on the future direction of the OSFAs

On January 16th the School organised a gathering of the STP OSFA Lead Station Writers and their deputies for what we called an ‘OSFA Visioning Day’ to inform the short- and longer-term development of the OSFAs.

The agenda of the day focused on three areas

1. how the School and station writing teams across 30+ specialisms will plan and organise OSFA delivery
2. resources and activities that will help trainees prepare for their high-stakes assessment locally
3. a roundtable reflection on the OSFA as a fit-for-purpose assessment

The day was very productive. A consensus was reached on the planning approach that will work for all specialties and the School. The group developed a valuable list of innovative and interesting OSFA preparation resources and activities for the School to consider developing for trainees and departments. The afternoon roundtable discussion generated a thorough consideration of the current OSFA model and of the potential for improvements that would enhance its fitness for the diverse specialties that constitute the healthcare science family.

The School would like to express its thanks to all who attended and is additionally is very appreciative that there was representation across nearly all STP specialties. The School will now consider the feedback and comments made on the day very carefully. We will plan the development of more resources to support trainees and departments and continue the conversation on the OSFA model with the station writing teams, as representatives of their workforce, at a subsequent meeting to be planned during a dip in the OSFA events calendar. Watch this space.