Multisociety task force recommendations of competencies in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
BACKGROUND
Numerous accrediting organizations are calling for competency-based medical education that would help define specific specialties and serve as a foundation for ongoing assessment throughout a practitioner's career. Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Medicine are two distinct subspecialties, yet many individual physicians have expertise in both because of overlapping content. Establishing specific competencies for these subspecialties identifies educational goals for trainees and guides practitioners through their lifelong learning.


OBJECTIVE
To define specific competencies for graduates of fellowships in Pulmonary Medicine and Internal Medicine-based Critical Care.


METHODS
A Task Force composed of representatives from key stakeholder societies convened to identify and define specific competencies for both disciplines. Beginning with a detailed list of existing competencies from diverse sources, the Task Force categorized each item into one of six core competency headings. Each individual item was reviewed by committee members individually, in group meetings, and conference calls. Nominal group methods were used for most items to retain the views and opinions of the minority perspective. Controversial items underwent additional whole group discussions with iterative modified-Delphi techniques. Consensus was ultimately determined by a simple majority vote.


RESULTS
The Task Force identified and defined 327 specific competencies for Internal Medicine-based Critical Care and 276 for Pulmonary Medicine, each with a designation as either: (1) relevant, but competency is not essential or (2) competency essential to the specialty.


CONCLUSIONS
Specific competencies in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine can be identified and defined using a multisociety collaborative approach. These recommendations serve as a starting point and set the stage for future modification to facilitate maximum quality of care as the specialties evolve.
Buckley
John D
JD
Henry Ford Hospital, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46220, USA. johnbuck@iupui.edu
Addrizzo-Harris
Doreen J
DJ
Clay
Alison S
AS
Curtis
J Randall
JR
Kotloff
Robert M
RM
Lorin
Scott M
SM
Murin
Susan
S
Sessler
Curtis N
CN
Rogers
Paul L
PL
Rosen
Mark J
MJ
Spevetz
Antoinette
A
King
Talmadge E
TE
Malhotra
Atul
A
Parsons
Polly E
PE
D000068:Accreditation / Q000592:standards*; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003422:Critical Care; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000592:standards*; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D015272:Pulmonary Medicine / Q000193:education*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014481:United States