Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (AMAC)

AMAC project reports

AMAC-1 project report

(http://www.olt.gov.au/system/files/resources/SP10_1869_Wilkinson_Report_2012.pdf)

This is the final report for AMAC-1, entitled The Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration: developing the foundations for a national assessment of medical student learning outcomes (ALTC Project SP10-1869).

This project ran from late 2010 to 2012 and included scoping work, wide-ranging sector engagement, development of an assessment framework, the compilation of assessment items and the validation of items through pilot testing. The work provided a foundation for what would hopefully become the ongoing development and implementation of collaboration that would provide a sustainable and robust means of assuring the standards of medical education in Australia.

AMAC-2 project report

(http://www.olt.gov.au/system/files/resources/ID12_2482_Wilkinson_report_2014.pdf)

This is the final report for AMAC-2, entitled Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration: from proof of concept to proof of sustainability (OLT project ID12-2482). This project advanced previous work funded by the ALTC and was undertaken from early 2013 to mid 2014. AMAC-2 took the proof of concept achieved through the initial AMAC project with the aim of building an ongoing, sustainable and successful collaboration between medical schools in Australia and New Zealand.

AMAC-2 has produced a series of resources that inform the design and establishment of a multi-institutional assessment collaboration. The project also involved the further development of assessment items, testing of items and the development of reporting on common assessments to better inform students and institutions. This collaboration focuses on shared assessment for the purpose of comparative evaluation and quality improvement. The original project team (those involved in the project proposal) included 10 medical schools and a not-for-profit educational research organisation. Following the receipt of the grant by the Commonwealth Office for Learning and Teaching, a further five Australian medical schools and one New Zealand medical school have become active participants in AMAC.