Background: Patient involvement in postgraduate medical education (PGME) can help residents improve their communication, professionalism, and collaboration. The CanMEDS Framework defines such competencies for physicians and informs teaching and assessment activities in PGME. However, it is unclear how patients are referenced in the CanMEDS Framework and if these references encourage the active involvement of patients in PGME. To inform how patients are referenced in the revisions of the CanMEDS Framework, scheduled for publication in 2025, our aim was to determine how patients are referenced in each the 2005 and 2015 CanMEDS Frameworks.
Methods: We used document analysis to examine how the term ‘patient(s)’ is referenced in the 2005 and 2015 CanMEDS Frameworks.
Results: Several 2005 and 2015 CanMEDS Roles include patients in the descriptions but do not reference them in the competencies. Others do not reference patients in the descriptions or competencies, potentially detracting from the importance of involving patients. As it stands, the 2015 Health Advocate is the only Role that describes and references patients working with physicians as partners in care, facilitating potential opportunities for patient involvement in PGME.
Conclusion: There are inconsistencies in how patients are described and referenced as potential partners in PGME throughout past and present CanMEDS Frameworks. Understanding these inconsistencies can inform the revision of CanMEDS that is scheduled for publication in 2025.
Background: Patients/caregivers can be actively involved in the education of healthcare providers (HCPs). The purpose of this study was to explore patients'/caregivers' perspectives on their involvement and roles in the education of HCPs.
Methods: We invited patients/caregivers to participate in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. We analyzed the interview data using conventional content analysis to identify themes.
Results: In terms of patient/caregiver involvement in the education of HCPs, we identified that patients/caregivers perceive that it: (a) is challenging because of power-differentials between themselves and HCPs; (b) requires patient training; (c) needs to start early in HCPs’ education processes; (d) can improve patient-HCP partnerships, and (e) requires compensation for patients. With regards to the roles that patients can play in educating HCPs, we found that patients/caregivers want to: (a) teach HCPs about patients’ expectations, experiences and perspectives through case studies, storytelling, and educational research; (b) provide direct feedback to HCPs, and (c) advise on curricula development and admission boards for HCPs.
Conclusions: Understanding patients’/caregivers’ perspectives on this topic can help educational leaders and HCPs improve active patient/caregiver involvement in the education of HCPs. We need to listen to patients’/caregivers’ voices in order to make effective changes in current and future health professions education.
This article provides my perspective on the importance of hearing and integrating patients’ voices in the education of health care providers from 2 lenses, as a patient and as a nurse. It highlights why and how patients should be actively involved in health professions education. It is important that health care professions be reminded that patients want to be involved in health professions education; this will enable them to establish meaningful partnerships with patients along the continuum of their education, as well as improve upon their delivery of patient-centred care.
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