Co-designing Entrustable Professional Activities in General Practitioner's training: a participatory research study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are increasingly important in medical education.
• Successful implementation of novel educational interventions like EPAs requires balancing curriculum design needs with practical user requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design a comprehensive Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) framework by engaging diverse stakeholders.
• To refine the EPA framework based on feedback from clinical competence committee members, General Practitioner (GP) trainers, and trainees.

Main Methods:

• A participatory research design with two iterative cycles was employed.
• The first cycle used a modified-Delphi methodology with 14 clinical competence committee (CCC) members.
• The second cycle involved semi-structured interviews with GP trainers and trainees to gather perceptions and refine the framework.

Main Results:

• All 60 proposed EPAs were agreed upon for inclusion by CCC members, with 16 adaptations made for clarity.
• Stakeholders emphasized the EPA framework's value for workplace-based assessment and relevance to clinical practice.
• Concerns were raised regarding the number of EPAs and their potential high-stakes nature, highlighting implementation challenges.

Conclusions:

• Accommodating diverse stakeholder needs during EPA framework design is crucial for successful implementation.
• Empowering users as experts in their experience aids in identifying potential implementation barriers.
• A collaborative approach with diverse stakeholder input leads to effective educational interventions for complex assessment challenges.