• Korean Journal of Transplantation
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.170-176
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• 2017

We need to establish an informative guideline to increase inter-institutional and inter-observer reproducibility of renal transplant diagnosis, and to improve the diagnostic ability of pathologists in Korea. A first nation-wide survey for renal transplant pathology was conducted by Renal Pathology Study Group of the Korean Society of Pathologists in 2016, to provide the continued excellence in the transplantation pathology laboratory, and to improve the diagnostic ability for the best treatment of transplant patients. This survey revealed the significant variations in scale, work load and biopsy indications for the renal transplant pathology in various institutions in Korea. The Banff classification were used by all institutions for the diagnosis of renal transplant pathology, but different formats were used: most institutions (70%) used the "2013 Banff classification" while the others were using "2007 Banff classification" (20%) or even older formats. In daily diagnostic practice of the renal allografts, difficulties that pathologists encounter were quite diverse due to different environments they work in. Most respondents agreed that standardized diagnostic practice guidelines, regular education on renal transplant pathology and convenient ways of consultation are further needed. We are currently working toward the enhancement of the expertise of renal pathologists and to increase inter-institutional and inter-observer reproducibility by 1) development of a set of virtual slides of renal allograft biopsies for the training, 2) validation and gathering expert's consensus on the core variables of rejection diagnosis by using virtual slides, and 3) continued education by the developed virtual slide atlas.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2021

Background: Recently, the Korean Association of Pharmacy Education has been focusing on competency-based education (CBE) and has established required areas of competencies to improve the graduation competency. However, competency-based assessment (CBA) tools for implementing CBE have not yet been developed for faculty members and students to successfully access the assessment tests. Moreover, the faculty members in charge in pharmacy schools have encountered various barriers in recruiting individuals with integrated clinical experience to act as virtual patients. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the advantages and limitations of applying CBA tool and faculty assessors in the development of CBE to ensure the reliability of this assessment. Methods: Utilizing CBA tool, the students' communication skills and styles were assessed. students and faculty assessors were surveyed to evaluate the advantages and limitations of the CBA tool. Results: 8 assessors and 96 students participated in this study. 100% (8/8) of the faculty assessors and 77.4% (65/84) of the students reported that CBA tool is valuable to assess and improve student's ability. 90.5% (76/84) of the students felt confident in applying knowledge to patient-centered care. CBA tool can be a valuable for the instructors in identifying the competency level of students but can also be associated with limitations in implementation to ensure the objectivity and reliability of the CBA. Conclusions: The CBA tool can be valuable in assessing the level of students' competency. Faculty assessors have the advantage of well-prepared themselves for patient roles, so that the time and cost required may be minimized.