The Fellowship Council (FC) Board of Directors is proposing a new competency-based educational model that focuses on attaining specific outcomes in fellowship training. The aim is to develop a unified approach to defining fellowship standards with broad support by all stakeholder societies (AHPBA, ASCRS, AHS, ASMBS, SAGES and SSAT) to:
- Provide a clear understanding of expected performance by defining Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for training and assessment. An EPA is simply a clinical activity that will be delegated to a fellow when they demonstrate sufficient competence. At the end of the fellowship, each fellow should be trusted to
- Facilitate uniform accreditation of fellowship programs
- Better align with North American General Surgery Residency training programs as they shift towards competency-based assessment frameworks.
- Assist Fellows and Program Directors in identifying gaps in learning to facilitate coaching
This new model emphasizes frequent work-place assessments in various settings. These short, focused evaluations provide feedback to the fellow regarding the level of supervision required in that specific clinical case. A Clinical Competency Committee then will then review all the assessments and ensure the fellow is progressing as expected.
The EPA assessment platform will be available for all Fellowship Council fellowships for the 2021-2022 fellowship cohort. As this is a new approach for many, this first year will be a transition time. It is anticipated that full implementation and the use of EPA assessments will be a program requirement beginning in the 2022-2023 fellowship year. More detailed information about EPAs can found Here.
Programs and Fellows will have access to the EPA assessment platform August 1, 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact the Fellowship Council Office at epa@fellowshipcouncil.org.
Regards,
The Fellowship Council Education/Curriculum Committee