Development of entrustable professional activities framework for clinical microbiology residency: a national...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Microbiology
• Competency-Based Training

Background:

• Competency-based education is crucial for professional development.
• Clinical microbiology residency programs need standardized tasks, known as Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), for effective training and assessment.
• A lack of specific EPAs for clinical microbiology hinders the evaluation of learner proficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a set of specific EPAs for clinical microbiology residency programs.
• To establish a standardized framework for assessing competency in clinical microbiology.

Main Methods:

• A multi-step national expert consensus process was used.
• A literature review identified potential EPAs, followed by expert evaluation using the EQual rubric.
• Three rounds of the modified Delphi method with ten experts assessed content validity and determined entrustment years, using an 80% validity index agreement threshold.

Main Results:

• 39 out of 43 initially identified EPAs were confirmed after expert review.
• 16 EPAs were ultimately accepted through the Delphi method for clinical microbiology residency training.
• The 16 EPAs cover key areas such as preanalytical testing, diagnostics, infection control, leadership, research, and laboratory management.

Conclusions:

• Sixteen validated EPAs were developed for clinical microbiology residency programs.
• This study provides a robust, multi-step validation for these EPAs.
• The established EPAs represent a significant advancement in competency-based postgraduate training in clinical microbiology.