Flower power: the armoured expert in the CanMEDS competency framework?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Professions Education
• Sociology of Professions

Background:

• Competency frameworks, such as the CanMEDS Roles Framework, are widely used in international health professions education.
• Despite their prevalence, empirical research on the theoretical underpinnings and practical application of specific roles-based frameworks remains limited.

Observation:

• This study employed critical discourse analysis to examine the historical development of the Educating Future Physicians of Ontario (EFPO) roles, a precursor to CanMEDS.
• Analysis revealed that roles definitions are contextually and socially negotiated, not objective ideals.

Findings:

• Discourses of threat and protection were identified during EFPO roles development, illustrating the construction of medical expertise as central and other roles as supportive.
• Non-medical roles may function to protect the authority of medical expertise.

Implications:

• Roles frameworks in health professions education should acknowledge their socially negotiated and contextual nature.
• Effective training models require explicit recognition of how roles are constructed within specific professional contexts.