Twelve tips for developing simulation-based mastery learning clinical skills checklists

Abstract

Simulation-based mastery learning is a powerful educational paradigm that leads to high levels of performance through a combination of strict standards, deliberate practice, formative feedback, and rigorous assessment. Successful mastery learning curricula often require well-designed checklists that produce reliable data that contribute to valid decisions. The following twelve tips are intended to help educators create defensible and effective clinical skills checklists for use in mastery learning curricula. These tips focus on defining the scope of a checklist using established principles of curriculum development, crafting the checklist based on a literature review and expert input, revising and testing the checklist, and recruiting judges to set a minimum passing standard. While this article has a particular focus on mastery learning, with the exception of the tips related to standard setting, the general principles discussed apply to the development of any clinical skills checklist.

Keywords:

• Assessment
• checklist
• mastery learning
• simulation

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Matthew R. Klein

Matthew R. Klein, MD MPH is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Clinician Educator at the Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School in Providence, RI.

Dana E. Loke

Dana E. Loke, MD MS is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, WI.

Jeffrey H. Barsuk

Jeffrey H. Barsuk, MD MS is the Robert Hirschtick Professor of Medicine and a Professor of Medicine (Hospital Medicine) and Medical Education at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL.

Mark D. Adler

Mark D. Adler, MD is a Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) and Medical Education at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL.

William C. McGaghie

William C. McGaghie, PhD is a Professor of Medical Education and Preventive Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL.

David H. Salzman

David H. Salzman, MD MEd is the Vice Chair of Education, Department of Emergency Medicine and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Education at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL.