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Touchstone Institute Perspectives Series (TIPS)

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About TIPS

Welcome to the Touchstone Institute Perspectives Series (TIPS) page.

In this series we will develop answers to common, yet important questions that both regulators of health professions and examinees may ask about competency assessments and the methodologies used at Touchstone Institute. More TIPS will be added over time to create a rich resource on important assessment topics.

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TIPS Reports

on August 3, 2021
Considerations for Virtual Written Exam Security
on August 3, 2021
Considerations for Virtual Written Exam Security
on April 15, 2021
What's the difference between standardized and simulated clients?
on April 15, 2021
What's the difference between standardized and simulated clients?
on May 5, 2020
How to use psychometrics to ensure valid and reliable assessments.
on May 5, 2020
How to use psychometrics to ensure valid and reliable assessments.
on November 5, 2019
Do re-takes improve outcomes for examinees?
on November 5, 2019
Do re-takes improve outcomes for examinees?
on September 20, 2019
The rationale for competency-based assessment as the goal, and the steps required to get there.
on September 20, 2019
The rationale for competency-based assessment as the goal, and the steps required to get there.

TIPS Publications

on April 11, 2023
Have you ever wondered if the specific set of factors you are assigned to on OSCE exam day has an impact on your performance? As with any exam that is in high demand and will be attempted by many examinees, we want to accommodate as many examinees as possible and this is only possible by having multiple exam tracks, including rest stations in addition to the scored stations, and holding multiple exam times and days. The Research and Analysis department at Touchstone Institute wanted to answer this question to ensure examinees are offered a fair, valid and equivalent assessment. Watch the video to learn more about the investigation.
on November 30, 2022
Healthcare professionals are in short supply in Ontario and globally, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic. Ontario has one of the lowest ratios of doctors to population in Canada and continues facing shortages in health human resources due to retirements, fatigue, and dissatisfaction. Strategies to increase the supply of healthcare workers are vital to building a resilient system to cope with the health sector challenges that Ontario will face in the future. There has been a historical reliance on internationally educated health professionals (IEHPs) to fill the gap. They are here but are often underutilized or face lengthy pathways to acceptance and registration. More effective strategies to integrate them into the workforce are needed. Competency assessments are a proven method that is efficient and effective.
on November 28, 2022
This study compared the modified borderline group method to two adaptations namely, regression-based, and four-facet Rasch model borderline group methods. Results indicated that the two adaptations may be more defensible than modified BGM in the context of a smaller OSCE.
on July 6, 2022
Occupation-specific language assessment is a dynamic procedure and CELBAN has overcome many changes to the nursing industry, language benchmarks, and the pandemic indicating it is a resilient option for IENs and regulators.
on October 13, 2020
Findings demonstrated relatively high inter-rater reliability and intra-rater reliability, and that CLB-based speaking descriptors (CLB 6-9) provided sufficient information for raters to discriminate examinees’ oral proficiency.
on April 6, 2019
Examiner Based Variance can affect test taker outcomes, the aim of this study was to investigate examiner based effect of differential rater functioning over time (DRIFT).
on April 13, 2018
The purpose of standard setting in health professions education is to facilitate decisions following the assessment of competence at admissions, during training or at certification.
on February 27, 2018
Tablet-based assessments Offer benefits over scanable-paper assessments, but what is the impact on assessment scores?
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