[Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in the "iMED DENT" model of undergraduate dental training at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf]

Abstract

In dental education, the assessment of clinical activities is especially important, as students start to perform treatments on real patients beginning in the seventh semester. When entering the final exam, students must be capable of carrying out all treatments of a dental professional, as they will exercise their profession as dentists directly after the exam. During dental training, preparation for the performance of dental activities in a clinical context is achieved through preclinical coursework and early patient contact before the seventh semester to enhance competencies. In the course of developing the iMED DENT curriculum of undergraduate dental training at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), a catalogue of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) has been defined. An EPA comprises a clinical procedure (e.g., fitting of a crown) corresponding to the students' level of competency at the time of performance. Each EPA includes teaching within the three core competencies: "theoretical knowledge," "clinical skills," and "patient communication." The applied assessment formats have to ensure that the feedback given on clinical performance contains all relevant competencies. The EPAs are evaluated using a graded "ABCD assessment" scheme (A = very good, B = good, C = bad, D = activity was not completed/incomplete). The assessment scheme serves as a tool for feedback to improve learning success and at the same time for evaluation of examinations during the course of studies.

Keywords: Competency-based learning; Dental education; EPA; Evaluation of clinical activities; Valuation type.