Competency-based education and core concepts in physiology

Competency-based education (CBE) is a method of curriculum design that focuses on what students should know and be able to do at the end of a course of study. CBE defines skill and behavior outcomes in addition to the acquisition of knowledge. Medical education standards based on CBE are found widely around the world, but outside of professional education, basic science programs and instructors have been slower to define their desired competencies and map them onto existing courses. This review examines the history of CBE and how it has evolved in the biomedical science community. The challenge facing American physiology educators is to define the content knowledge that is most appropriate for their cohort of students. One possibility is to use the growing global interest in physiology core concepts to supplement the scarcity of published physiological knowledge competencies.NEW & NOTEWORTHY As institutions and accrediting bodies increase their focus on outcomes, educators are being asked to implement competency-based education (CBE) in curriculum design. Resources for skill and behavior competencies are well documented, but physiological knowledge outcomes for undergraduate and professional students are not. This article reviews the history of CBE in the biomedical sciences and proposes a strategy for using core concepts in physiology to augment existing learning outcomes.