Assessment/Feedback - Clinical Immersion & Transitions

The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is a required component for all residency applications that includes important information regarding academic performance and clinical skills. This document is used to help identify students who demonstrate skills and attributes that programs value in a prospective resident. It plays a role in the offering of interviews and is a way to differentiate applicants from each other.  Narrative comments that focus on specific clinical competencies, interpersonal and communication skills are highly valued and useful. 

Handout for Writing MSPE Comments 

Feedback: How we get better (5 min video clip)

Example of Giving Feedback on EPA 2 - Differential Diagnosis (4.5 min video clip)

Example of Giving Feedback on EPAs 3 and 4 - Interpreting Labs and Recommending Orders (5.5 min video clip)

• Avoiding gender bias in reference writing
• Letters for POC  Guide for writing letters of reference for People of Color (POC) 

Medical student evaluations appear riddled with racial and gender biases 

Mitigating Bias in Assessment - Taj Mustapha, MD (Video)

Implicit Bias in Writing Evaluations (slides)

MEDtrics is a software system developed by the University of Minnesota Medical School Assessment & Evaluation team and Health Sciences Technology staff. It is used to complete assessments and evaluations during clinical clerkships in the medical school. It combines the organizational and enrollment processes of MEdIS, the survey delivery functionality of Qualtrics, and the reporting technology of Tableau into one integrated platform

MEDtrics user guides can be found on the Help and Resources page of MEDtrics. 

To find the Help and Resources page, log into MEDtrics  and click on the Help and Resources page on the Dashboard/Homepage. 

When you scroll to the bottom of the page you will find links to the user guides. You have the option to open the user guides as a google doc or PDF.

The CSA is a holistic assessment that rounds out what is to be assessed to ensure the graduation competencies have been addressed. Each CSA form contains five criteria, each with a 5-point rating scale, optional comment boxes for each criterion, an MSPE comment box, a Growth Comment box, and Attestations. These are student initiated. Students will pull up the CSA on their mobile device or laptop then the preceptor and the student fill out the form together in real time.

For more information about CSAs, including a Preceptor Guide, please visit the CSA page.

The EPA assessments provide specific and actionable formative feedback to support medical students' growth and development. There are 13 Core EPAs, which represent the essential tasks of a medical student. Each EPA incorporates the competencies every student must demonstrate to graduate from the University of Minnesota Medical School. The Core EPAs consist of a shared set of clinical activities that residents must perform on their first day of residency. This assessment is student-initiated and can be completed on the student's phone or computer.

For more information about EPAs, to include a Preceptor Guide, please visit the Medical Education Office of Assessment &Evaluation EPA page. 

EPA Tip Sheet - years 3-4 - pocket size (can download this pdf and fold for easy on-site use)

EPA Student Cues (pdf)

Example of Giving Feedback on EPA 2 - Differential Diagnosis (4.5 min video clip)

Example of Giving Feedback on EPAs 3 and 4 - Interpreting Labs and Recommending Orders (5.5 min video clip)

EPA Toolkit (Faculty and Learners' Guide) from AAMC

Upon completion of the core required clerkships, all University of Minnesota Medical Students will have learned about a common set of conditions, procedures, and presenting symptoms that encompass high yield learning opportunities that any medical student needs to learn.