A Model for Developing ACGME Competencies in an Academic Anesthesiology Department

In response to the American College of Graduate Medical Education's Outcomes Project and its mandate for a transition to a competency based curriculum, the Department of Anesthesiology at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center executed a focused 18 month program which engaged the entire faculty and effected not only curricular, but cultural change in how anesthesiology residents are taught and evaluated. This article describes the process through which the department leadership educated, engaged, and focused the department's efforts and created an environment that sustained progress and provided incentives for performance. This process also resulted in the development of a novel web based evaluation tool tailored to meet the challenge of evaluating performance in the context of a competency based curriculum. This model, which proved effective for transition to a competency based curriculum, is one which can be applied to any large scale departmental education initiative.