RESUMEN
Compared to design methods of learning, learner assessment is not as systematic. The concept of learner assessment in health professions education has continued to evolve and has been significantly transformed since the early 2000s when Van der Vleuten proposed Programmatic assessment. Programmatic assessment is based on the philosophy that assessment is not an activity to cut out a part of learners’ competencies and judge learning outcomes at a scattered time (assessment of learning), but an activity to systematically assess learner’s competencies and link the results to learning (assessment for learning). This paper outlines the basic principles of programmatic assessment, introduces an example of programmatic assessment implementation, and discusses issues to be addressed when programmatic assessment is introduced into Japanese medical education.