Assessing learners is foundational to physician training and developmental growth throughout the medical education continuum. However, increasing evidence shows the prevalence and impact of harmful bias in assessments in medical education, accelerating the urgency to identify solutions.

Last fall, a team of UCSF faculty educators, medical students, and residents presented their research, their experiences, and recommendations at the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Conference on Ensuring Fairness in Medical Education Assessment.

Conference attendees discussed how to address the challenge of

Incorporating programmatic assessment into the learning environment at UCSF will involve developing a feedback culture that maintains dialogue between learner and faculty and among faculty as peers. UCSF Presidential Chair in Education, Cees Van der Vleuten, PhD, stressed the value of providing ongoing assessment and feedback to learners early and often. Feedback is not about commenting on an observation, but rather allowing the person receiving feedback to: tell their narrative, discover for themselves the areas in which they need support, and articulate where their challenges and success