Dr. Walter Tavares is a scientist at the Wilson Centre and Post-MD education at the University of Toronto, as well as an Educator with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Canadian Association of Medical Educators and McMaster University. His research examines ways of optimizing performance based assessments in work and simulation settings broadly and aims to advance theory and practice where decisions regarding the ability to adaptively integrate multiple competencies in response to complex clinical stimuli are desired. His area of focus is on simulation based assessment and the role and/or cognitive behaviours of the observer / rater in the assessment process.