Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME)
Medical education is changing to meet the demands of our evolving health care system. One of these changes is the development and implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME).
CBME is an outcomes-based approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of education programs and to the assessment of learners across the continuum that uses competencies or observable abilities. The goal of CBME is to ensure that all learners achieve the desired patient-centered outcomes during their training.
The AAMC has been a leader in CBME for more than two decades and continues to support the development and implementation of new competencies. Below, you will find resources from the AAMC and other organizations toward the design and use of CBME.
Foundational Competencies for Undergraduate Medical Education
The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) made great progress in their joint initiative to create a common set of foundational competencies, publishing the new Foundational Competencies for Undergraduate Medical Education on December 12, 2024. Learn more about this initiative.
An initial draft of undergraduate medical education competencies was developed by a professionally diverse working group and circulated in January 2024. Following feedback received from the community on the initial draft, a revised second draft was developed. The second draft of the competencies was circulated in April 2024, and community input was collected through May 2024. This feedback informed next steps, and the new competencies set was published in December 2024.
AAMC New and Emerging Areas in Medicine Competency Series
The AAMC New and Emerging Areas in Medicine competency series was developed by leaders from across the medical education and clinical practice communities. These competencies are intended to add depth to key emerging areas to guide curricular and professional development, formative performance assessment, cross-continuum collaborations, and, ultimately, improvements in health care services and outcomes.
Updated Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) Competencies
The initial version of the QIPS competencies was released in 2019 and provided a foundational resource for the implementation of quality improvement and patient safety education across multiple educational settings. Not only did the initial competencies reflect the tremendous progress made in the field since the seminal U.S. Institute of Medicine report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, but they also reflected novel approaches to how one might acquire the necessary competencies throughout undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate medical education to enable high-quality and safe, independent clinical practice.
In the years since the release of the initial competencies, much has happened in health care and medical education. We have had the benefit of perspective and experience from early work in competency development to guide our future directions. We have deepened our understanding of the importance of a competency-driven approach to meet learning health system workforce needs. We have integrated this model of education to achieve improved patient care outcomes. And we have lived through an unprecedented global health experience that forever transformed the way in which we view, approach, and practice medicine. The Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Competencies Across the Learning Continuum, Version 2, report aligns with the latest evidence and practices.
Please direct any questions to QIPS@aamc.org.
Telehealth and Virtual Care
Telehealth, defined as the use of technology to deliver health care at a distance, has become an increasingly important and commonly used tool for delivering care to patients. The Telehealth Competencies Across the Learning Continuum report provides background, a glossary, and context (including curricular models) for integrating and improving telehealth curricula in medical education. Version 2.0 is currently under development. If you would like to provide feedback or share examples of how you use telehealth competencies, please email telehealth@aamc.org.
Additional Competencies and Priorities
Below are several examples of additional resources available to educators across the health professions to inform and guide curricular efforts. These resources are not specialty-specific and have been developed nationally through systematic and inclusive consensus building processes, some in partnership with the AAMC.
Resources developed in collaboration with the AAMC:
Further resources developed across health professions education:
- Care of Older Patients
- Climate and Health Key Competencies
- Competencies to Improve Diagnosis
- Genetics and Genomics
- Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care
- Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Competencies for Undergraduate Medical Education
- Nutrition Competencies for Medical Students and Physician Trainees
- Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education
Please note that the AAMC does not endorse or maintain access to or accuracy of these resources.
Opportunities for Engagement and Professional Development
- Join the Learning Community for CBME in UME
- Attend the faculty development course for advancing CBME
- Find examples for integrating the arts and humanities into competency-based medical education through AAMC’s FRAHME initiative
- Read and connect with recent CBME scholarship in the AAMC’s peer-reviewed journals, Academic Medicine and MedEdPORTAL®