Introducing CBME

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to Dalhousie University’s competency based medical education site.  In July, 2017, Dalhousie joined the 16 other universities in Canada in launching Competence by Design (CBD) in two of its residency programs: Anaesthesia and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.  CBD is the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s (RCPSC) competency based medical education model, and represents a significant change in the way we train specialist physicians. Dalhousie’s Anaesthesia program got a head start on this process, thanks to an RCPSC Fundamental Innovations in Residency Education (FIRE) proposal launched last year. As such, it has become a go-to source of information for many in the country.

In contrast to traditional residency education that is largely based on the time spent in training, competency-based education relies on the demonstration of specific work-based competencies through workplace-based assessment.  CBD implementation promises greater flexibility within training programs, greater applicability of training to the work physicians and surgeons do in practice, and greater social accountability to the populations we serve.

On this site, you will find competency-based education resources, links and further information of potential interest to anyone involved in residency education, whether at Dalhousie, or elsewhere.  We are looking forward to the future when many more residency programs will adopt a competency-based approach, and would be happy to welcome you to one of them!

Should you have any questions about anything you read on this site, or, if you have comments about anything you would like to see, please contact us

Sincerely,

Andrew Warren MD, MSc, FRCPC
Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education