SHELF

Guest · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 5:41 am Post subject: SHELF

How relevant and fair did you find the SHELF exam? Do you think it was an appropriate measure of your Family Medicine knowledge?

Guest · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:09 pm Post subject:

Shelf exams are accepted standardized measures for evaluating students. The exam itself should not be the root of the question, since it's probably not changeable.

Should we instead ask whether the learning objectives of the course (what were they, were they clearly stated?) and the methods of instruction (is there a system in place for preceptors to teach specific core topics?) an adequate preparation for the test?

Is there some way we can get test results to see how the class scored on average?

Guest · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:49 pm Post subject:

Interesting topic. I agree that the shelf exam is a standardized test that we are unlikely to change. At the same time, if the exam covers very different material from what we experience on the rotation, it seems that there is a problem somewhere. Either the family medicine experience at UVA is not what students around the country experience, or the test itself is not a fair test of family medicine knowledge. In either case, I think this is a problem that warrants some investigation.