Aim of the STP assessment strategy
The aim of the STP is to prepare trainees for practice as threshold registered Clinical Scientists in their chosen specialty. To ensure that trainees are able to practise safely, uphold professional standards and are ready to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as Clinical Scientists by the end of the programme, trainees are assessed throughout the programme.
The STP curriculum is designed to meet this aim integrating 2 elements: the work-based curriculum and the academic curriculum. The work-based element of the curriculum is delivered in the workplace and assessed through work-based assessments. Successful completion of the work-based assessments is evidenced in the e-portfolio. The academic element of the curriculum is delivered by HEIs as an MSc programme. Trainees complete multiple assessments designed by the HEI during the course of the MSc and successful completion of the MSc programme is required to complete the STP.
The STP Final Year Assessment forms the third part of the STP assessment strategy. The work-based assessment portfolio, the MSc programme and the STP Final Year Assessment must all be successfully achieved to enable successful completion of the STP.
Aim of the STP Final Year Assessment
By the final year of the programme, trainees should be able to integrate and apply the knowledge, skills and behaviours which they have acquired and developed in each of the elements of the programme. The STP Final Year Assessment asks trainees to demonstrate this by describing how they would manage typical scenarios that may be faced by threshold-level, newly-registered Clinical Scientists. The aim of the assessment to ensure trainees can apply their knowledge and experience of practice to safely navigate potentially novel but not uncommon situations.
Purpose of the STP Final Year Assessment
The STP Final Year Assessment has been designed to sit alongside the ‘on-programme’ assessments completed in the workplace and on the MSc programme. Each part of the assessment strategy for the STP performs a different function. Together, the package of assessments ensures greater confidence that a trainee is ready to practise safely and register with the HCPC at the end of the programme.
The work-based assessments are completed ‘on the job’ in the practice environment and therefore have high validity as an authentic and realistic test of the trainee’s ability to practice.
The assessments completed as part of the MSc are designed by HEI delivering the programme. The primary focus of the MSc is to provide the academic knowledge and research skills to underpin professional clinical scientific practice and therefore this assessment can be a less authentic and realistic test of the trainee’s ability to practice.
The STP Final Year assessment has been designed to be:
Synoptic – The assessment asks trainees to draw on the skills, knowledge and behaviours they have developed across the elements of the programme to complete the assessment. As a result, the assessment is held in the final year, as near to the end of the programme as possible. While this may be the last assessment a trainee sits on the programme, it is not the only assessment which determines completion of the STP.
Independent – The assessment is administrated by the School and assessors are drawn from the wider specialty beyond the trainee’s workplace. Each trainee is assessed by multiple assessors, ensuring that the assessment provides an independent view on their performance in the assessment.
Objective – The assessment utilises set questions marked against a pre-defined marking scheme. The assessment does not rely on assessors making subjective judgements about a trainee performance in the assessment.
Standardised – The format and standards for the assessment are applied to all trainees on the STP. To facilitate this level of standardisation, the assessment has to be conducted in a controlled environment. Trainees can only describe how they would respond to a scenario, rather than demonstrate how they would respond, which may be different depending on workplace custom and practice.