M.M. Weggemans is a resident in anesthesiology and PhD student, Center for Research and Development of Education, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9475-0731 .
N.M. ter Haar was research employee at the time of this study, at the Center for Research and Development of Education, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6127-2438 .
Acad Med. 2021 Oct 1;96(10):1461-1466. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004130.
Improved training for translational scientists is important to help address the waste of resources and irreproducibility of research outcomes in current translational medicine. However, there are a lack of training programs that cover the full range of knowledge and skills translational scientists need to develop, and many translational research training programs struggle to develop competency frameworks and assessment tools. Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) have been successfully implemented to link competencies with everyday practice in training health care professionals but have not yet been developed for research training. The purpose of the current study was to develop EPAs for translational scientists that could be used for their training and assessment and help increase the transparency and reproducibility of research outcomes and methods by providing best practices for translational research.
In 2019, a modified Delphi technique, preceded by a focus group held in 2018 using a nominal group technique, was used to reach consensus on EPA titles and content among an international panel of 22 translational experts. Mean, standard deviation, and level of agreement were calculated after each round. Consensus was defined as ≥ 80% agreement.
Consensus was reached on 89% of the items after the first round and 100% after the second round. The final list of EPAs consists of 17 EPAs divided over 7 sections.
The concept of EPAs is new to the field of research training. The 17 EPA titles and their descriptions developed in this study may be used as a framework for improved training for translational scientists with the ultimate goal to contribute to closing the gap between bench and bedside, reducing resource waste in science, and increasing the reproducibility of research outcomes.
提高转化科学家的培训水平对于解决当前转化医学中资源浪费和研究结果不可再现的问题至关重要。然而，目前缺乏涵盖转化科学家所需的全面知识和技能的培训计划，许多转化研究培训计划难以制定能力框架和评估工具。可信赖的专业活动（EPAs）已成功应用于将能力与医疗保健专业人员的日常实践联系起来，但尚未为研究培训开发。本研究的目的是为转化科学家制定 EPAs，用于他们的培训和评估，并通过为转化研究提供最佳实践，帮助提高研究结果和方法的透明度和再现性。
2019 年，采用改良 Delphi 技术，在 2018 年使用名义小组技术举行焦点小组会议，在国际 22 名转化专家小组中就 EPA 标题和内容达成共识。每轮后计算平均值、标准差和一致性水平。共识定义为≥80%的同意率。
首轮后有 89%的项目达成共识，第二轮后达成 100%的共识。最终的 EPA 列表包括 17 项 EPA，分为 7 个部分。
EPAs 的概念对于研究培训领域来说是全新的。本研究中开发的 17 项 EPA 标题及其描述可作为改进转化科学家培训的框架，最终目标是有助于缩小基础研究和临床应用之间的差距，减少科学资源浪费，并提高研究结果的再现性。
