Implementation of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in Residency Training

EPAs (Entrustable Professional Activities/ Anvertraubare Professionalle Aktivitäten/ Activités Professionnelles Confiables) serve as an assessment tool for competency based medical training (CBME), a newly introduced framework in postgraduate medical training in Switzerland. You can find further information on EPAs and CBME here.

The current studies

Currently, we investigate the implementation and use of EPAs in the setting of cardiology training and at pilot centres volunteering to use EPAs across specialties.

Five cardiology training centres across Switzerland have already been using EPAs since 2022. Here, the first study is conducted, which focuses on the implementation process from the organisers’ point of view. Now, in 2024, all other cardiology training centres are about to follow. The second study aims to get an insight into the implementation, use and impact of EPAs especially on learning climate and feedback culture. For the second study, trainees and supervisors of all cardiology training centres in Switzerland are inquired via an online survey, before and after the implementation of EPAs. 

Starting in 2024, several centres will volunteer to use EPAs in different specialities within their institution. These centres represent small and large hospitals in different regions of Switzerland and are working in close collaboration with the SIWF/ISFM EPA Commission. To get started with EPAs, these centres use so-called "common EPAs", which are formulated to work across different specialities. Similar to the cardiology centres, we collect qualitative data in interviews with organisers and quantitative data in surveys of trainees and supervisors.

How the results of these studies are used

We try to implement EPAs as effective and helpful as possible. The cardiology centres and common EPA pilot centres are playing a pioneering role in the use of EPAs. The results from these centres will be used to improve the use of EPAs directly at their sites, as well as inform the process for other medical specialties and settings that will follow with the use of EPAs.

Contact

The studies are conducted by Dr. med. Fabienne Schwitz, MME, University Hospital Bern, Inselspital and Dr. med. Eva Hennel, MME, PhD, SIWF. If you have any questions regarding our studies or if you are involved in the use of EPAs but have not received an invitational e-mail for the studies, please contact [email protected].