Competency-based medical education (CBME) is an outcomes-based approach to medical education. It reforms the key aspect of assessment, which must be performed in real-time. 1 [McMaster CBME Guide, pg 3,7] To achieve this, CBME leverages technology to provide an improved educational experience for medical residents.
This technology should be used in all aspects of teaching and assessment. 2 [Nousiainen, pg 5] To ensure success, there are some major challenges that need to be considered before implementing CBME.
The Challenges of Implementing CBME
There are two major challenges:
- The sheer size of university programs, which may require organizational changes to handle CBME implementation
- The approach for assessing residents based on the CBME curriculum addresses questions such as:3 [Caccia, pg 2,4]
- How do you assess residents in real-time with direct observation in the clinical setting?
- How do you implement formative assessment?
- How do you detect residents in need of help as early as possible?
The benefits of implementing CBME are far greater than the challenges, however.
How Do You Implement CBME Successfully?
In a recent case study, we discussed how some universities had successfully tackled these challenges by:
- Creating a departmental structure to handle all CBME-related curriculum and implementation issues
- Incorporating a robust electronic platform to manage CBME across all residency programs and faculties
McMaster University, for example, opted to use the robust and flexible platform, Lumevi Student Information System (MedSIS 3C) to implement CBME. This university has successfully rolled out CBME across the majority of its residency programs.
Lumevi Student Information System
- Flexible
- Easily import and define learning paths
- Quickly manage individual learning objectives
- Effortlessly update and adjust or add evaluation templates
- Powerful and Intuitive
- Simple user interface
- Calculate learner progress automatically
- Conveniently request and complete evaluations
- Relevant
- Collect, summarize and deliver the most useful information
- Clear, concise, and accessible data
- Instantaneous, real-time reporting of the learner’s journey
This paradigm shift in the teaching and learning approach to medical education is helping to create physicians who are better prepared to meet the needs of today’s complex healthcare environment, where healthcare systems and patient care needs are changing dramatically.4 [Ross, pg 1,2] The shift to CBME has already begun across North America and Europe, with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) implementing these changes across Canadian medical residency programs.1,3,5 [McMaster CBME Guide, pg 3,7] [Caccia, pg 5] [CFPC, pg 4]
Key Takeaways
- CBME is the future of medical education and is already being implemented across North America and Europe
- The benefits of CBME apply not only to residents and faculty but also to patients
- Overcoming the challenges of implementing CBME requires a robust electronic platform for management across all programs and individuals
- Lumevi Student Information System is a comprehensive solution that meets the evolving needs of CBME implementation for medical schools and residency programs
With Lumevi Student Information System, you can cut through the complexity of launching and expanding competency-based medical education for all learners in health sciences.
Discover Lumevi Student Information System
A SaaS health sciences student information platform with robust competency-based education features and analytics expertise to optimize learning and decision-making across the complete student journey: from admission to graduation.
