Assessment of Self-directed Learning Sessions: Approaches, Challenges, and Strategies to Overcome the Challenges

Considering the changing dynamics in the field of medicine and the expectations of the community from the healthcare professionals, it is an indispensable need that all medical professionals strive to become better. As a matter of fact, being adult learners, medical students have to devise their own strategy to attain the expected competencies, and this essentially requires the inclusion of self-directed learning (SDL). SDL plays an important role in the making of a lifelong learner and thus lays down the seed for a successful medical practitioner. The need of the hour is to plan assessments for topics allocated to SDL, which will ensure that medical students start taking these topics seriously. These planned assessments can be carried out either as self-assessment or peer assessment or by the involvement of teachers. In conclusion, SDL is an important aspect of undergraduate training, and its importance or benefits derived from it can be significantly enhanced by supplementing the same with assessments. Even though the assessment of SDL is a challenging task, but with proper planning and teamwork, we can benefit the students and thereby aid them in the process to attain the desired competencies.