Competency-Based Medical Education for Physician Assistants: The Development of Competency-Based Medical Education and Competency Frameworks in the United States and Canada

Abstract

Competency-based medical education and competency frameworks, introduced in the 1990s, are arguably the greatest contributions to the renewal of medical education since Abraham Flexner revolutionized the field with his Flexner Report in 1910. The benefits of competency-based medical education include clear identification of learning outcomes to guide teaching and assessment; the ability to standardize curricula across jurisdictions and institutions, and establish criteria for accreditation, certification, and licensure; and the identification of interpersonal and professional skills that were previously undervalued compared with clinical knowledge and technical skills.