Program Directors Survey on Competency Assessment in Cardiology Fellowship

Area of Science:

• Cardiology Fellowship Training
• Medical Education Assessment
• Competency-Based Medical Education

Background:

• Limited data exist on how cardiovascular disease (CV) fellowship programs and program directors (PDs) assess fellow competence.
• Understanding current assessment practices is crucial for improving cardiology training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the methods used by CV fellowship programs and PDs to assess fellow competence.
• To understand the role of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Milestones in fellow evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to CV fellowship PDs, focusing on trainee evaluation, competency development, and assessment.
• The survey included 15 items on competence assessment, ACGME Milestones, and competency-based medical education.

Main Results:

• Direct faculty supervision and case discussions (90%) are primary assessment methods at training initiation.
• Faculty evaluations assess most ACGME Core Competencies, while the In-Training Examination (93%) assesses medical knowledge.
• Despite challenges with faculty evaluation completion (60%), 81% of PDs are confident in assessing global competence.

Conclusions:

• Direct faculty engagement is vital for assessing cardiology fellow competence.
• PDs express confidence in current assessment abilities but show reluctance towards a purely competency-based medical education model.