MEdIC Series: The Case of the Competency Conundrum
Welcome to season 4, episode 9 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Drs. Tamara McColl, Teresa Chan, John Eicken, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Eve Purdy, Alkarim Velji and Brent Thoma) is pleased to welcome you to our online community of practice where we discuss the practice of academic medicine!
This month, we present a case of a residency competency committee that has competing opinions surrounding competency based medical education (CBME) advancement principles when faced with a superstar resident who has met the requirements of his program and may complete his training ahead of the usual trajectory.
Members and mentors of the inaugural, 2016-17 ALiEM 
The second season of our EM Fellowship Match Advice Series launches with this insightful discussion with Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Fellowship Directors from across the United States talking about the nuances of applying into this ACGME fellowship, particularly through the lens of EM-trained residents. Hosted by Dr. Michael Gisondi, listen to the podcast version for details.
Every year, emergency medicine (EM) residents take the In-Training Exam (ITE) to test their medical knowledge and predict the likelihood of passing their official written board examination upon completion of residency training. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires all EM residencies to include weekly didactics in order to build the knowledge base of residents and facilitate preparation for the written and oral American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) or American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) examinations. These didactics, however, often consists of traditional lecture formats. In contrast, according to the testing effect, we know that taking a test on material improves retention more than just passively hearing or reading the information alone.