Innovation in graduate medical education - using a competency based medical education curriculum

Each year the American Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) pays over 10 billion dollars for graduate medical education in the USA.1 Up until now there has been lack of evidence based research on the effectiveness of how American osteopathic trainees learn and are taught. An outcomes based delivery system has proven to be an important tool for measuring the status of graduate medical education (GME) in America. Competency based medical education (CBME) has shown to be an important part of the international medical education system. Since the ACGME (American Council on graduate medical education) started measuring the six core competencies over a decade ago, questions have arisen regarding traditional residency training methods and their benefits. Since the Single Accreditation System of the ACGME and AOA (American Osteopathic Association) was put in effect in July 2015, now is the best time for the osteopathic community, both nationally and internationally, to take a look at how we are teaching residents. Within this article, faculty training of residents, reflective practices, and the assessment of professionalism is specifically focused on. It is of utmost importance to research and reevaluate our medical education curriculum so that we will be able to help meet the needs of future generations, while also graduating competent, globally engaged, professional physicians. This article seeks to show the need for innovation in osteopathic GME and the role that competency based medical education (CBME) can play in the osteopathic profession to meet this need.