While our STEPS competency framework effectively defines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) essential for non-clinical SOS, these KSAs represent intrinsic attributes that are difficult to observe in real-world practice, which may compromise the reliability of assessment. A promising solution, commonly used in medical education, involves grounding assessment frameworks in EPAs, which translate KSAs into observable tasks and emphasize their personalized, time-variable entrustment.
While EPA-based assessment has proven successful in clinical training, its application in non-clinical contexts, including SOS training and undergraduate education, remains underexplored. Thus, the overarching aim of my research is to adapt, develop, and prepare to implement an EPA-based assessment framework for emerging university-based SOS training programs like STEPS.
The questions guiding my research are:
- How can an EPA-based assessment framework be adapted and developed to support progressive competency development and reliable assessment in university-based SOS training?
- How can an implementation strategy be co-created to optimize the likelihood of successful uptake within university-based training programs like STEPS?
To accomplish this aim, my work follows a three-phase approach:
- Phase 1 (Theory and Evidence Identification): I am currently conducting a scoping review to map the diffusion of EPAs beyond their medical education origins, identify strategies for adaptation, and understand contextual factors influencing adoption in non-clinical training programs like STEPS.
- Phase 2 (Framework Modelling): I am currently developing the assessment framework through active engagement with university leadership and simulation experts across Canada. This process involves: (1) defining a set of professional activities (PAs) that encapsulate the SOS role and mapping them to our STEPS competency framework; (2) building an EPA framework based on this mapping; (3) designing assessment strategies and tools for didactic, simulation, and work-integrated learning curricular components; (4) scaling the assessment framework to fit the STEPS minor; and (5) co-creating implementation tools to support framework's successful implementation.
- Phase 3 (Piloting and Pre-Implementation) : Once developed, I plan to pilot the assessment framework with a cohort of STEPS trainees and conduct interviews and focus groups to assess perceived feasibility, acceptability, and contextual relevance. The insights will guide refinements to the both the framework and its implementation strategy.
This work will result in an EPA-based assessment framework and implementation strategy for university-based SOS training programs like STEPS. We anticipate that this work will enhance the quality of simulation-based health professions education by enabling reliable assessment in SOS training , while also providing a replicable model for broader scaling and adoption in university-based programs in diverse fields.
