Connecting undergraduate and postgraduate medical education through an elective EPA-based transitional year in acute care: an early project report

Objective: A well-designed final year may ease the transition from medical school to postgraduate training, if it has enough depth to enable the acquisition of early specialty expertise, while keeping enough breadth to support the graduation as all-round physician. Aim of this article is to describe the design of a multidisciplinary dedicated transitional year (DTY) around the theme of recognition and initial treatment of vitally threatened patients. Methods: Undergraduate and postgraduate training directors from the departments of Anaesthesiology, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine and Respiratory Medicine at UMC Utrecht and partnering hospitals have collaboratively developed and implemented a curriculum for a final year focusing on three entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in the domain of acute care. These EPAs represent authentic tasks of starting residents in each of the participating specialties, align student training objectives with postgraduate expectations, and are the primary focus of learning, teaching, and assessment throughout the year. Students are developmentally supported by a mentor and educationally supported by monthly academic half days. Results: Between October 2014 and November 2016,, 47 students chose DTY Acute Care. The set-up of our DTY is inspiring other specialties to develop multidisciplinary DTYs. Attainment of clinical competence, experience of students and staff, and exploration of graduates’ early careers are subjects of current research projects. Conclusion: This multidisciplinary dedicated transitional year aims to graduate students with profile-specific competence in acute care. It prepares for residency in a range of specialties.