Entrustable Professional Activities for Head and Neck Surgery Residents: A Consensus Model.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Competency-Based Education

Background:

• Head and Neck Surgery residency requires standardized training objectives.
• Current evaluation methods may lack comprehensive assessment of resident progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a consensus-based set of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for Head and Neck Surgery residency.
• To create a standardized framework for competency assessment in surgical education.

Main Methods:

• Modified Delphi methodology employed over two rounds.
• Expert consensus achieved with an 85% agreement threshold.
• Involved eight expert Head and Neck Surgeons from Brazilian academic institutions.

Main Results:

• Consensus reached on 18 specific Entrustable Professional Activities for Head and Neck Surgery.
• Each EPA mapped to core surgical competencies and five entrustment levels.
• Entrustment levels range from observation to independent practice.

Conclusions:

• A consensus-based EPA framework for Head and Neck Surgery residency was established.
• The EPAs facilitate competency-based assessment and progressive entrustment.
• This framework can improve resident evaluation and patient safety in surgical training.