TY - JOUR T1 - Assessment: harnessing change to improve standards JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 720 LP - 721 VL - 54 IS - 506 AU - Val Wass Y1 - 2004/09/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/54/506/720.abstract N2 - We all carry recollections of examination experiences akin to torture. I particularly remember being hounded into deciding ‘whether trichomoniasis can be caught from toilet seats’ at my MRCGP oral 20 years ago. I was unhappy with the interrogation and, believe it or not, walked out of Princes Gate determined to see an improvement. Certainly, during my subsequent 10 years as a MRCGP examiner, including 5 as convenor of the orals, there were significant changes in the structure and delivery of the exam. Now, after 3 years as Chair of the College Examination Board, major changes loom ahead.I have never understood why membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners was not absolutely mandatory to my career as a GP. I had previously attained MRCP. MRCGP seemed just as important. After all being a ‘generalist’ requires skills over and above those of the ‘specialist’. Yet, on the face of it, there were dual standards for this most unique of professions. Over the years, the marriage of summative assessment and College membership has become another personal goal.We now have the opportunity to harness the present climate of change and resolve the historical inconsistency of the two-tier assessment. The proposals for the Modernisation of Medical Careers (MMC)1 alongside the introduction of the Postgraduate Medical Education Training Board (PMETB)2 have catalysed the review … ER -