Written Communications Portfolio

What is the WCP?

The Faculty recognises that communication, or the ability to impart information to a wide range of audiences in an appropriate written or oral style is one of the core competencies of an occupational physician. The written exam does not provide an appropriate medium for assessment of a candidate's ability to convey written information effectively and appropriately in a variety of scenarios. To address this, the Written Communications Portfolio has been adopted as a mandatory Stage C summative exit assessment.

The portfolio consists of four types of reports, each of which must follow an appropriate style, format, and word limit. The reports include:

1. Workplace Assessment (based on individual cases)
2. Medicolegal (based on individual cases)
3. Environmental (based on an individual situation)
4. Management (based on a particular situation, and may include a safety audit)

Reports are submitted as a complete ‘portfolio' by 30 March this 2012. Each report must be the original and exclusive work of the trainee, and the material is expected to be based on an actual case in which the trainee has been professionally involved.

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Implementation

The Written Communication Portfolio is now a mandatory summative exit assessment (for AFOEM Fellowship) for Stage C Trainees i.e Trainees who have passed both the Written and Practical examinations.

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Standard of Reports

Each report should be 2500-3000 words in total, and be accompanied by a covering explanatory note of not more than 300 words describing the specific context. All content should be de-identified to ensure personal and commercial confidentiality (individual, company, or location names) are not used. The general principles of professional writing apply to all report types¹ but particular styles and formats may be more appropriate to some types than others: diagrams, data, or photos should be included as appendices and do not contribute to the word count.

Candidates should be able to demonstrate that they are able to organise and prioritise information, and adapt their written technique to communicate in an effective, concise, and conventional way that is appropriate to the context (suited to the receiver and the purpose). In general, the reader should be regarded as intelligent but less well-informed than the author, and specialist knowledge should not be assumed except where that is implicit. The range of readers may include (depending on the report type) colleagues, other health professionals, employers, contractors, insurers, compensation authority, lawyers, external organizations (such as unions, special interest groups, etc), the community, media representatives, patients, and employees.

Reports should also demonstrate that the candidate understands the legal status of written communication, and that in general they adhere to the following principles:

• Informed consent
• Human rights legislaton
• Privacy legislation
• Natural justice

The criteria for marking include:

• clear language appropriate to those receiving the report
• logical and conventional structure
• clear and accurate analysis
• appropriate conclusion and recommendations

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Submission of Reports

All four reports must be submitted with a completed cover sheet to the Faculty by 30 March 2012.

• Download the WCP Coversheet (DOC | 235KB)

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Assessment of Reports

Reports are initially judged for style, format, grammar, punctuation, compliance with word limit, and ‘content' (in terms of logical flow and conciseness) by an expert in business and professional written communication, and returned to candidates for revision and correction (and resubmission) where necessary. The reports are then forwarded for marking on medical/professional content by examiners appointed by the Assessment Sub-Committee. Each portfolio will be assessed by at least two examiners, and candidates must achieve a satisfactory standard in at least three of the four reports to achieve a ‘pass' in written communication.

• View the WCP Assessment Criteria (PDF | 25KB)

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Failure Management *

Any report that is deemed not to have met the standard needs to be improved or replaced and must be re-submitted the following year. The candidate's 'complete' portfolio will be submitted to the markers, but any report that was previously 'passed' cannot subsequently be 'failed'. Only those reports that failed to meet the standards are actuallly assessed the following year².

* Please note, for 2011 a set of transitional arrangements will be implemented. Re-submission of unsatisfactory portfolios will be permitted during April to ensure that any one who is intending on becoming a Fellow this year, has the maximum opportunity to complete the assessment successfully.

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Writing Guidelines

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Notes

1. See section on 'Writing Guidelines', and consult professional texts such as 'The Elements of Style' or 'The Style Guide' etc.
2. The Faculty will maintain an accurate record of each candidate and their portfolio. Candidates' resubmitted reports will be recombined with those that 'passed' previously so that markers are not aware of any re-attempt. However, any report that was previously deemed to have passed cannot subsequently be judged to have failed, so as not to disadvantage the candidate - this approach will provide a useful internal check on the consistency of standards and assessment over time.

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 24 February 2011