Competency-based medical education and continuing professional development: A conceptualization for change

Abstract

Competency-based medical education (CBME) is as important in continuing professional development (CPD) as at any other stage of a physician's career. Principles of CBME have the potential to revolutionize CPD. Transitioning to CBME-based CPD will require a cultural change to gain commitment from physicians, their employers and institutions, CPD providers, professional organizations, and medical regulators. It will require learning to be aligned with professional and workplace standards. Practitioners will need to develop the expertise to systematically examine their own clinical performance data, identify performance improvement opportunities and possibilities, and develop a plan to address areas of concern. Health care facilities and systems will need to produce data on a regular basis and to develop and train CPD educators who can work with physician groups. Stakeholders, such as medical regulatory authorities who are responsible for licensing physicians and other standard-setting bodies that credential and develop maintenance-of-certification systems, will need to change their paradigm of competency enhancement through CPD.

Implementing Competency-Based Medical Education in Family Medicine: A Scoping Review on Residency Programs and Family Practices in Canada and the United States

“…Although this focus is clearly relevant to CPD, there was essentially no scholarship on broader questions of the applicability or relevance of CBME to physicians in practice. This finding corresponds to the previous studies by Lockyer et al, 54 Nousiainen et al, 55 and Kitto et al 53 reporting an overall lack of studies on CBME implementation practices within CPD.…”

What we measure … and what we should measure in medical education

“…The fundamental issue is that assessment content is not adequately aligned with the knowledge and skills required for effective practice, at least for the physician at that point in his or her career. From an assessment perspective, there has also been some debate as to whether recertification (or revalidation) examinations should be high‐stakes assessments ‘of learning’ or more formative assessments ‘for learning’, or some combination thereof . However, regardless of the primary purpose of the assessment, the content and constructs being measured must be aligned with the education needs of the practitioner.…”

“…From an assessment perspective, there has also been some debate as to whether recertification (or revalidation) examinations should be highstakes assessments 'of learning' or more formative assessments 'for learning', or some combination thereof. 36 However, regardless of the primary purpose of the assessment, the content and constructs being measured must be aligned with the education needs of the practitioner. Ideally, to minimise the tension between the certification agencies and the diplomates they serve, these assessments should be relevant to practice, spur learning and lead to more effective patient care.…”

Continuing professional development requirements for UK health professionals: a scoping review

“…Numerous terms have been used over time to describe postqualification training and education: CE, continuing medical education (CME), competency-based medical education (CBME) CET and CPD. CE, in medicine termed CME and the more recently as CBME,29 30 is generally accepted to refer to specific educational activities that aim to update skills and understanding to maintain professional competence 11 31. CE has, in the past, formed the basis of voluntary or mandatory time or point-based education systems used by professional bodies31 32 but over the last two decades there has been a shift to the use of the term CPD to describe these systems 11 32 33.…”