Competency-based medical education with entrustable professional activities as a structured framework to define, assess, and operationalize competencies in prehospital pediatric care¶
Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 associational),q2· 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study
Description¶
In competency-based medical education, the gap between competencies and observable workplace tasks is addressed by entrustable professional activities, which are units of professional practice that can be entrusted to a learner once sufficient competence has been demonstrated. Incorporating EPAs into emergency medicine training aligns assessment with authentic clinical performance, supports a graduated increase in trainee autonomy, and contributes to improved patient safety.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Careful adaptation to the specific challenges of prehospital medicine, particularly the rarity of critical pediatric cases
Constraints¶
- Various EPAs for emergency medicine have been proposed, but their definitions and implementation remain heterogeneous and inconsistently applied across settings; EPAs have not yet been formally implemented in Germany
Target Learners¶
- EMS physicians and trainees in physician-based EMS systems
Learning Goals¶
- Translate abstract competency frameworks into observable clinical activities
Claims¶
- Nested Pediatric Epas For Prehospital Emergency Medicine [+M]
- Stepwise Epa Integration Prehospital Training [+M]
- Self-perceived competence is heterogeneous across pediatric scenarios, with high confidence for seizures, anaphylaxis, and hypoglycemia but markedly lower confidence for neonatal care, pediatric polytrauma, and resuscitation [+W]
- More than 70% of participants advocated for structured, mandatory, and simulation-based pediatric training [+W]
Related Designs¶
- Competency-based medical education (CBME) frames training as progressive acquisition of observable and assessable outcomes.
- EPA framework as the organising competency structure for a summative pre-PJ OSCE.
Examples¶
-
Key Sources¶
- Kamphausen Anne, Steg Julia, Bexten Tobias, Kubitz Jens, Engelen Christian. (2026). Challenges faced by prehospital emergency physicians providing emergency care to pediatric patients: Defining entrustable professional activities by identifying self-perceived competency strengths and deficits in prehospital emergency medicine. Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-026-01637-x
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
design |
id |
cbme-epa-framework-prehospital-pediatric-care |
title |
Competency-based medical education with entrustable professional activities as a structured framework to define, assess, and operationalize competencies in prehospital pediatric care |
description |
In competency-based medical education, the gap between competencies and observable workplace tasks is addressed by entrustable professional activities, which are units of professional practice that can be entrusted to... |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-04 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — kamphausen-anne-2026 |
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