Primary Goal: To demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the Core EPAs for Entering Residency framework in the path to graduation of M.D. candidates.
Specifically, we hope to answer questions in four main areas:
1. Curriculum development:
- How do we teach students the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for each of the EPAs?
- What do we teach students in order for them to be able to independently perform the skills needed for each EPA?
- When do we teach each of these skills?
- In what order do we teach each skill?
- What components are best taught in a classroom? In a small group? In a simulated environment? In a clinical setting?
2. Assessment of competency using the EPA framework:
- How many observations are needed for each of the EPAs?
- What contexts (e.g., children versus adult, acute versus ambulatory setting, simple versus complex disease) are essential to observe for each EPA?
- How consistent must the performance of the students be to be entrusted to perform the activity without direct supervision?
- Are they assessed as a bundle or does the assessment of each component add up to a complete EPA assessment?
3. The path to entrustment:
- Who makes the entrustment decision?
- When is the decision made?
- How is the decision documented?
- How and when is developmental information about entrustment conveyed to residency program directors?
- How do residency program directors view the credibility of entrustment decisions?
4. Faculty development:
- How do we teach faculty about CBME and EPAs? Can this be scaled (webinar or online? Small group?)
- What are the faculty development needs for helping faculty to assess competence through this EPA framework?
- How do we reach community based faculty?
- What data do we need to track faculty assessment decisions?
- What forms, videos, and other learning materials need to be produced?
Secondary goal: To demonstrate improvement in the gap between performance and expectations for students entering residency who have been entrusted on the Core EPAs.