Entrustable Professional Activities in Orthopaedics.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Competency-Based Education

Background:

• Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) define core specialty tasks for trainees.
• EPAs are crucial for assessing clinical competence but are lacking for orthopaedic surgery.
• This study aimed to establish essential EPAs for orthopaedic residency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a peer-reviewed list of essential Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for orthopaedic surgery residents.
• To define the core competencies required for independent practice in orthopaedic surgery.

Main Methods:

• A focus group generated an initial list of 285 EPAs.
• The modified Delphi method was used with input from 75 surgeons across two rounds.
• EPAs were ranked on a mandatory scale, with >50% consensus required to proceed.

Main Results:

• Out of 285 initial EPAs, 129 were eliminated in the first Delphi round.
• An additional 118 EPAs were removed in the second round.
• A final list of 49 EPAs across 9 orthopaedic subspecialties was established.

Conclusions:

• Expert consensus identified 49 mandatory EPAs for orthopaedic residency completion.
• This curated list serves as a benchmark for curriculum development and assessment.
• The EPAs support competency-based medical education in orthopaedic surgery training programs.