For Workplace-Based Assessments and other structured assessment workflows, you can now pre-allocate specific assessors to specific candidates as part of the form distribution. When the candidate opens their form, the right assessor is already locked in for the relevant section — no selection step required.
When is this useful? Any time the candidate-assessor pairing is decided in advance — for example WBAs where the WBA Co-ordinator has already paired trainees with their supervisors, IMG programs with assigned principal supervisors, or any structured assessment where you don't want the candidate making the assignment.
When to use pre-allocation vs. self-nomination
Forms can still be set up the traditional way, where the candidate nominates their own assessor by email or SMS. Pre-allocation is the alternative — pick whichever fits your workflow:
Pre-allocation | Self-nomination |
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Before you start
You'll need:
A candidate cohort with all the trainees who'll receive the form (how to set up a cohort).
An assessor cohort containing the assessors you'll be pairing with — every assessor you want to pair must already be invited to Med App and added to this cohort.
Confirmed candidate-assessor pairings from your WBA Co-ordinator or program lead.
Note: If your assessors are not yet on Med App, invite them and add them to the assessor cohort first — see the Setting up assessments using digital forms guide.
Setting up a pre-allocated distribution
Open Communications > Forms and select the form you want to distribute.
Click 'New distribution'.
Configure the distribution as usual — name, available date, close date, and other preferences.
Set the candidate cohort as the primary recipient.
Set the assessor cohort, then select the option for 'Pre-allocate assessors'.
A pairing table will appear listing each candidate. Use the dropdown next to each candidate's name to assign their pre-allocated assessor.
Review the pairings and click through to complete the distribution.
What the candidate experiences
The candidate is notified the form is available, just like any other distribution.
When they open the form and reach the assessor section, the assessor's name is already shown — they don't need to nominate anyone.
The candidate completes their section and submits. The pre-allocated assessor is automatically notified.
Changing or adjusting pairings
If pairings change after distribution (assessor on leave, candidate reassigned to a different supervisor, etc.), you can update them via the form distribution page:
Open the distribution and find the candidate whose pairing needs to change.
Click 'View' next to their name.
Use the 'Reassign' action to update the pre-allocated assessor.
For more on form actions and reassignment see Form distributions, tracking progress and retracting forms.
Common questions
Q: Can I mix pre-allocation with self-nomination on different sections of the same form?
Yes. Each assessor section in a multi-section form can have its own approver type — for example, the principal supervisor section could be pre-allocated while the co-supervisor section uses self-nomination.
Q: What happens if the pre-allocated assessor leaves before the form is completed?
Use the reassign action on the distribution to swap in a new assessor. Any draft data already entered by the candidate will be preserved.
Q: Does the assessor need to know they've been pre-allocated?
Not specifically — but it's good practice to let your assessor cohort know they may receive forms via Med App and what to expect. The WBA Assessor Guide is a useful onboarding resource you can share.
Q: Can I pre-allocate more than one assessor per candidate?
If your form has multiple assessor sections (e.g. principal supervisor and co-supervisor), each section can have its own pre-allocated assessor for each candidate.