Your responsibilities
As an assessor on the STP Final Year Assessment, you are exercising a professional responsibility when passing judgement on trainees’ performance. Your approach as an assessor can have a significant impact on a trainee’s performance in the assessment. Here we set out the behaviour we expect of you as an assessor.
What is expected of you as an assessor
To be fair, objective and consistent
As an assessor you are expected to be fair, objective and consistent in the judgement you pass on each trainee’s performance. The overall aim of the assessment is to ensure trainees can apply their knowledge and experience of practice to safely navigate potentially novel, but not uncommon situations. You will need to draw on your knowledge of the practice expected from threshold level, newly registered, Clinical Scientists to do this.
Your confidence in the design of the assessment and its associated processes is an important contribution to remaining objective and consistent. You can find out more about the rationale for the format of STP Final Year Assessment here: The STP Final Year Assessment
The judgements that you make must only be based on the trainees’ performance in the STP Final Year Assessment. During the assessment, you may assess trainees whose training you have been involved in. You must not consider the trainees’ performance outside the assessment when marking their performance in the STP Final Year Assessment. If you have concerns about a trainee’s performance or behaviour prior to the assessment, please raise these through the appropriate routes in the trainee’s workplace. The STP Final Year Assessment must only assess the trainee’s performance in the assessment.
In this video the School’s Education and Training Manager, Sally Clee, provides guidance about the professional behaviours expected from assessors.
If you would like to find out more about the principles of assessing, you can explore the ‘Planning for Assessment’ module on the NHS Learning Hub.
To present yourself professionally
As an assessor you are expected to present yourself professionally just as you would for the work environment. The STP Final Year Assessment is being carried out online and you will need to be visible onscreen throughout the assessment. You should consider what can be seen in the background when you are on screen. You cannot blur the image or edit your background. You should ensure anything visible on screen does not benefit, hinder or distract trainees.
To present yourself neutrally
As an assessor you are expected to present yourself in a neutral and impartial manner with all trainees. You should maintain open, yet neutral, facial expressions and body language. You will be provided with a limited script of verbal prompts you can use with trainees in certain circumstances. Verbal prompts should be delivered in a calm, clear and neutral manner. There may be periods of the assessment where you are on screen with a trainee in silence. Be prepared for this. You must not provide trainees with additional verbal or non-verbal direction or cues, regardless of the asks a trainee may make of you or their response to the scripted prompts. This may feel unnatural and impersonal. However, it is vital to maintaining objectivity and consistency and ensuring trainees have an equitable experience.
To remain engaged in the assessment
Your approach should be the same for every trainee that you see. You are expected to remain engaged in the assessment throughout. You will need to be visible on screen, with your camera on, throughout each circuit and logged on for the duration of the assessment. There are breaks scheduled between circuits and there will be times within a circuit where there is no one in your station with you. To ensure the assessment runs smoothly and trainees receive an equitable experience, you need to remain focused on the assessment. We strongly recommend that you close all other applications on your device and limit external distractions, to allow you to focus on the task at hand. The trainees sitting the assessment, which may determine their future, deserve your undivided attention.
To maintain confidentiality
As an assessor, you will have access to information and knowledge before the assessment. You will be passing judgement on trainees and may be aware of decisions and outcomes of the assessment before they are officially shared. You are expected to maintain the confidentiality of all information related to the assessment. You must not share meeting invites or delegate attendance. You must not share assessment materials, take offline copies in any format or allow access to systems or sites used to store assessment material. You should avoid making notes about the assessment. Where necessary, notes should be stored securely and destroyed confidentially as soon as possible, particularly if this includes information about trainees.