Entrustable professional activities: A useful concept for neurology education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Competency-Based Medical Education
• Clinical Assessment

Background:

• Medical education is transitioning from process-based to competency-based models.
• Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are gaining traction as a framework for assessing physician competence.
• The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has defined core EPAs for medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the concept of EPAs in competency-based medical education.
• To describe the relevance and applicability of EPAs in neurologic education.
• To advocate for the incorporation of EPAs in neurology training.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on EPAs in medical education.
• Analysis of AAMC's core EPAs and their pilot implementation.
• Discussion of potential neurology-specific EPAs.

Main Results:

• EPAs offer a structured approach to observing, measuring, and entrusting medical students with clinical activities.
• Pediatrics is piloting specialty-specific EPAs to assess readiness for residency.
• Currently, no neurology-specific EPAs are published for clerkships or residencies.

Conclusions:

• EPAs are a valuable tool for competency-based medical education.
• Neurologic education can benefit from the adoption of EPAs.
• The American Academy of Neurology advocates for integrating core EPAs into undergraduate medical education and developing specialty-specific frameworks for neurology.