Professor of Medical Education to advise qualifications body

Professor Ronald Harden, leading international authority in medical education, has been appointed by Central Qualifications (CQ) to provide independent advice on the structure of their practical examinations.

Harden pioneered the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) process in the 1970s, which has since been adopted as a standard clinical assessment approach across the health sciences, including veterinary nursing.

OSCEs require students to perform a series of standardised clinical tasks within a circuit of short stations, which allow better fairness in assessing each student's competencies.

Before becoming a Professor of Medical Education, Harden worked as an endocrinologist. He went on to become teaching Dean and Director of the Centre of Medical Education at the University of Dundee, and Consultant Physician and Director of the Educational Development Unit of the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.

The numerous recognitions Harden has received for his services to medical education include; the Hubbard Award by the National Board of Examiners in the USA, an OBE by the Queen, and the AMEE 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award.

A spokesperson for CQ commented: "We, at Central Qualifications, are delighted that [Harden's] expertise will be used to benefit the veterinary nursing profession."