Seven years' experience of continuous assessment for degree examination in general practice

The GMC in Tomorrow's Doctors recommends innovation in both the medical curriculum and its assessment. However, few models of assessment adequately reflect the innovative teaching approaches and higher level function required of students by many undergraduate modules currently taught in the UK.This article presents a unique example of continuous assessment for summative purposes of a well-established module in general practice, having equal status in medical finals with medicine and surgery. The methods of assessment are described, together with modifications and results over a period of 7 years. This may provide a useful model for assessment of other new curricula.