The reporting milestones include:
- Managing patients with progressive responsibility and independence (patient care);
- Knowledge of diagnostic testing and procedures (medical knowledge);
- Learning and improving via feedback (practice-based learning and improvement);
- Communicating effectively in interprofessional teams (interpersonal and communication skills);
- Responding to each patient’s unique characteristics and needs (professionalism); and
- Recognizing system error and advocating for system improvement (systems-based practice).
In October 2013, the ACR NAS working group was created to develop rheumatology EPAs, which aim to link competencies to clinical practice and transition trainees to a workplace-based assessment. They are a set of tasks or responsibilities any practicing rheumatologist should be able to perform and can be evaluated by supervisors. In August 2014, the ACR board of Directors approved the final 14 EPAs for rheumatology and implemented them.
EPAs include:
- Managing the care of patients with acute and chronic, common and complex rheumatologic diseases across multiple care settings;
- Prescribing and managing immunomodulatory therapy;
- Demonstrating professional, compassionate and ethical behavior;
- Facilitating the learning of patients, families and members of the interprofessional teams; and
- Engaging in life-long learning.
The EPAs “illustrate the difference between rheumatologists and other clinicians who may provide care for individuals with musculoskeletal and rheumatic diseases,” write the authors. “With the development of EPAs, there is now a standardized language ensuring a common understanding of expectations to be achieved during training.”
Read the full article, milestones and rheumatology EPAs.
Brown Jr. CR, Criscione-Schreiber L, O’Rourke KS, et al. What is a rheumatologist and how do you make one? Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2016 Aug:68(8):1166–1172. doi: 10.1002/acr.22817. [Epub ahead of print]
