New pilot aims to help bridge gaps for new physicians

The School of Medicine has been named by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) as one of 10 medical schools that will make up a pilot cohort to test the implementation of the Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for Entering Residency. These are new guidelines intended to help bridge the gap between patient care activities that new physicians should be able to perform on day one of residency training and those they feel ready to perform without direct supervision.

The AAMC released the new guidelines in June in response to feedback from residency program directors about the clinical preparedness of entering residents, and from emerging literature documenting a performance gap at the transition point between medical school and residency training.

The School of Medicine was one of more than 70 AAMC member schools to apply for a spot in the pilot. The high number of applications “demonstrates the significant energy and commitment within academic medicine toward closing the gap between expectations and performance for residents on day one,” said Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., AAMC president and CEO.

The AAMC is a not-for-profit association representing all 141 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies. It represents 128,000 faculty members, 83,000 medical students, and 110,000 resident physicians.