Implementing competency-based medical education: Moving forward

Abstract

For more than 60 years, competency-based education has been proposed as an approach to education in many disciplines. In medical education, interest in CBME has grown dramatically in the last decade. This editorial introduces a series of papers that resulted from summits held in 2013 and 2016 by the International CBME Collaborators, a scholarly network whose members are interested in developing competency-based approaches to preparing the next generation of health professionals. An overview of the papers is given, as well as a summary of landmarks in the conceptual evolution and implementation of CBME. This series follows on a first collection of papers published by the International CBME Collaborators in Medical Teacher in 2010.

Disclosure statement

Eric Holmboe is employed by the ACGME and receives royalties for a textbook on assessment from Mosby-Elsevier. Resources and secretariat support for this project was provided by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Notes on contributors

Jason R. Frank, MD, is Director, Specialty Education, Strategy and Standards in the Office of Specialty Education at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the Director of Educational Research & Development in the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Linda Snell, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Core Faculty member, Centre for Medical and Department of General Internal Medicine, McGill University, and Senior Clinician Educator, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Canada.

Robert Englander, MD, is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, USA.

Eric S. Holmboe, MD, is Senior Vice President for Milestone Development and Evaluation, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, USA.