Competency-Based Medical Education and its Competency Frameworks

Abstract

Competency-based medical education (CBME) can be defined as education for the medical profession that is targeted at a fixed level of proficiency in one or more medical competencies and medical competency as a learnable, durable and measurable ability to execute a specific, integrative task that is a part of the full range of tasks that constitute the medical profession. It is a generalized ability that may vary somewhat, depending on the context. The individualized and time-independent nature of CBME stems from this definition, as education is finished when a preset level of competence is reached rather than after a fixed number of years. In this sense, a competent medical professional can act, but also has an authority or right to act and may be bestowed with a duty to act, implying that unqualified persons would not have this right or duty.