The Case for Transitioning to Pass/Fail Grading on Psychiatry Clerkships

• Published in: Academic psychiatry 2018-06, Vol.42 (3), p.396-398
• Main Authors: Joshi, Aditya, Haidet, Paul, Wolpaw, Daniel, Thompson, Britta M., Levine, Ruth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Clinical Clerkship; Clinical Competence; Collaboration; Core curriculum; Directors; Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods; Educational Environment; Educational Measurement - standards; Feature: Perspective; Humans; Internal medicine; Learning; Medical Education; Medical students; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Pass Fail Grading; Psychiatry; Psychiatry - education; School environment
• ISSN: 1042-9670; 1545-7230
• DOI: 10.1007/s40596-017-0844-8

In addition to raising minimum standards, it would help mitigate grade inflation which may be perpetuated through availability of multiple grading options within existing assessment systems [5] and may allow students to pass despite suboptimal performance [6]. Multi-tiered assessment systems foster a competitive learning environment among students which can hamper learning [8]. Since the ability to work successfully in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary environment is a key requirement for future practitioners [9], it is important to advocate for an assessment system which supports this goal. Medical students experience higher rates of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to the general population [10] and, although long-term data are scarce, evidence suggests that a pass/fail system improves mental health and satisfaction with education [11, 12]. [...]the paucity of robust data demonstrating an actual disadvantage in attainment of residency positions by students graduating a pass/fail system has been highlighted in the published literature [11].