Self-assessment in medical practice

Although assessment of performance will be central to revalidation, to clinical governance and to maintenance of quality in the National Health Service, formal appraisal by a third party will be no more than an annual event for most medical staff. To be fully effective doctors should assess their own clinical performance more frequently, but many lack training in how to do this. Self-assessment is also a valuable exercise in its own right. Benefits include increased morale and motivation as well as improvements in knowledge, communication and performance1. This paper sets out the case for devoting more time to the teaching of self-assessment skills. WHAT IS SELF-ASSESSMENT? According to Antonelli2, ‘self-assessment of knowledge and accuracy of skill performance is essential to the practice o