Development and Use of Observable Practice Activities in Graduate Medical Education: A 10-Year Experience: Invited...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME)

Background:

• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) milestones necessitate effective assessment strategies.
• Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) and Observable Practice Activities (OPAs) offer customizable tools for evaluating learner advancement.
• A clear process for developing and implementing specialty-specific EPAs and OPAs in residency curricula is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a decade of experience in developing and utilizing OPAs for assessing resident performance and competence in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R).

Main Methods:

• A PM&R residency program created 63 OPAs in 2014 and integrated them into the curriculum in 2015.
• Annual surveys of residents and faculty assessed OPA effectiveness and usability.
• Generalizability was evaluated by another PM&R program, and the process's value was shared in various educational forums.

Main Results:

• All 65 residents utilized the OPAs, which covered core PM&R conditions.
• Residents could monitor their progression in real-time.
• Faculty, residents, and education leaders found OPAs to be valuable.

Conclusions:

• Observable Practice Activities (OPAs) can be effectively developed and integrated into PM&R residency curricula.
• OPAs serve as a valuable tool for assessing resident progression through ACGME milestones.