Competency-Based Medical Education

In response to a variety of changes in the healthcare system, medical training programs around the world have begun shifting towards models of competency-based medical education. This has been suggested as a way of ensuring the proficiency of graduating physicians by focusing on learning outcomes rather than the amount of time spent in a training program. In Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has mandated a shift to competency-based education via their "Competence by Design" initiative, which is a hybrid model that does not discount or adjust time spent in training, but instead conceptualizes time as a resource for acquiring competencies. We are working closely with several surgical departments at McMaster to make the shift towards this new training model.

Examples of recent projects

1. We are currently conducting a mixed methods research program with PGME to better understand the impact of Competency by Design (CBD) training on resident experience. Drawing on survey and focus group responses, we are focussed on the impact of CBD on assessment and educational outcomes.  

2. Most recently, we have developed novel suites of intraoperative assessment tools in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the first step towards developing a holistic assessment framework that will form the core of the new competency-based curriculum. 

Click here to read one of our publications on this topic.