The University of Aberdeen’s School of Medicine faced significant challenges in managing clinical assessments across its dispersed campuses in the north of Scotland. With students spread across locations such as Shetland and the Western Isles, the reliance on manual processes meant feedback couldn’t be effectively monitored.
SparkForms was implemented to revolutionise these workflows, enabling real-time tracking, streamlined student support, and compliance with key medical education requirements.
Aberdeen previously used logbooks and triplicate forms for workplace-based assessments. These forms required manual collation by administrators, a significant and challenging workload to fully consolidate. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the inefficiencies of this approach when the school had to make rapid decisions about early graduations using paper-based data. SparkForms addressed these challenges by transitioning all assessments and logs into a digital format. With iPads provided to students, assessments could be completed, tracked, and accessed electronically, giving staff real-time visibility into student progress and enabling immediate interventions.
The adoption of SparkForms has had a transformative impact. Staff can now use dashboards to monitor student performance daily, identifying those who are falling behind or need additional support. This has enabled timely interventions, particularly for students in remote locations, ensuring consistent oversight across the region. Transitioning practical procedures logs to SparkForms eliminated frequent issues with paperwork, and the digital system has allowed Aberdeen to demonstrate compliance with GMC requirements effectively. Moreover, the ability to consolidate and access data electronically has significantly improved sustainability by reducing paper use and storage demands.
