Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Oct 2022)
Developing and Mapping Entrustable Professional Activities with Saudi Meds Competency Framework: A Consensus Study
Abstract
Mona Hmoud AlSheikh,1 Rania G Zaini,2 Muhammad Zafar Iqbal1 1Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 2Medical Education Department, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Mona Hmoud AlSheikh, Physiology Department, College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966 50 498 1912, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: This study aimed at developing a national consensus on entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for Saudi undergraduate medical education and mapping them with the “Saudi Meds” competency framework.Methods: A three phased approach was used. Phase 1 consisted of identifying and developing EPAs; Phase 2 consisted of building a national consensus on developed EPAs (validation process); and Phase 3 consisted of mapping the validated EPAs with the Saudi Meds competency framework. Nominal group and modified Delphi techniques were used to develop consensus on EPAs. Classical test theory-based item analysis was conducted to establish validity and reliability of finalized EPAs.Results: Fifteen expert medical educationists and 109 academic leaders from 23 medical schools participated in the validation process. The study achieved a consensus on 10 core EPAs with an overall reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) of 0.814. The item-total correlation ranged from 0.341 to 0.642.Conclusion: This study results in a national consensus on generic, comprehensive and region-specific EPAs that have been mapped with Saudi Meds competency framework. Our study is the first step in the direction of facilitating EPA-based curricular reforms in Saudi medical schools.Keywords: competency-based medical education, undergraduate training, entrustable professional activities, competency framework, Saudi Meds
