Using a Delphi process to establish consensus on emergency medicine clerkship competencies

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Lack of consensus on core competencies for Canadian emergency medicine (EM) clerkships.
• Existing curricula often rely on informal consensus or local initiatives.
• The Delphi process is a recognized method for achieving consensus.

Purpose of the Study:

• Define core competencies for EM clerkships nationwide.
• Validate the Delphi process for national curriculum development.
• Integrate the CanMEDS physician competency framework into undergraduate medical education.

Main Methods:

• Employed a modified Delphi process with expert emergency physicians across Canada.
• Utilized the CanMEDS 2005 Physician Competency Framework for structure.
• Convened a panel of 30 experts from nine Canadian medical schools.

Main Results:

• An initial list of 152 competencies was generated across seven CanMEDS domains.
• The Delphi process reduced the competency list by 59% after two rounds.
• A consensus was reached on 62 core competencies for EM clerkships.

Conclusions:

• A modified Delphi process effectively achieves consensus on core competencies for EM clerkships.
• The developed competency list is realistic and achievable.
• This methodology can be applied to other medical specialties and health professions for competency development.