The Advancement of EPAs: Development, Implementation, and Student Advancement Using Entrustable Professional Activity Assessments in the Medicine Clerkship

AAMC established entrustable professional activities (EPAs) as a framework of 13 activities all medical students should be able to perform upon entering residency, though large-scale implementation and use of EPAs for advancement remains uncommon..At our institution, we developed a student-driven EPA assessment and formative feedback model spanning all core clerkships to assess and monitor the professional development of students towards entrustment, with student advancement based on entrustability. We describe our EPA assessment model within the context of the medicine clerkship, including which EPA targets are best suited for different clerkship learning objectives and how they may be successfully captured in a timely, student-driven fashion. We review methods of faculty and student development to assist with the transition from traditional assessment methods as well as lessons learned from implementation and suggestions for ongoing quality improvement. Additionally, participants will receive examples of point-of-contact assessment tools and EPA guidance documents that provide timely guidance for assessors as they complete assessments. Participants will also conduct a clinical competency committee-style meeting to review sample student EPA data to model how committees can review longitudinal data to decide on student advancement based on entrustability.