Buthelezi Sanele
Department of Optometry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2025 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/opo.13562.
Competency-based education (CBE) has gained prominence in health profession education, emphasising the assessment of learners based on their ability to perform essential tasks in clinical practice. Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) operationalise competency assessment by translating broad competencies into specific tasks that learners must be trusted to perform independently before transitioning into professional practice. While EPAs are widely integrated into medical education, their application in optometry remains limited.
This narrative explores the role of EPAs in optometric education, examining their potential to enhance competency assessment and support the transition from training to independent practice.
A narrative review was conducted, focusing on EPAs in health profession education, with a particular emphasis on their application in optometry. Peer-reviewed journal articles, institutional reports and policy documents were analysed to identify trends, challenges and best practices.
The review highlights a growing recognition of EPAs in optometric education, particularly in operationalising core competencies and supporting structured, workplace-based assessments. However, challenges such as limited optometry-specific EPA examples, a need for faculty development and suitable assessment tools hinder broader adoption. Lessons from other health professions suggest that structured EPA frameworks improve learner readiness and enhance patient safety.
EPAs offer a structured approach to competency assessment in optometric education, fostering clinical preparedness. Their integration requires curriculum alignment, faculty development and robust assessment strategies.
This review provides insights into the potential adoption of EPAs in optometric education, contributing to advancing competency-based training and assessment strategies.
基于能力的教育（CBE）在卫生职业教育中日益突出，强调根据学习者在临床实践中执行基本任务的能力进行评估。可托付专业活动（EPA）通过将广泛的能力转化为学习者在过渡到专业实践之前必须被信任能够独立执行的具体任务，来实施能力评估。虽然EPA已广泛融入医学教育，但其在验光领域的应用仍然有限。
本叙述性探讨EPA在验光教育中的作用，研究其在增强能力评估以及支持从培训到独立实践过渡方面的潜力。
进行了一项叙述性综述，重点关注卫生职业教育中的EPA，特别强调其在验光领域的应用。对同行评审的期刊文章、机构报告和政策文件进行分析，以确定趋势、挑战和最佳实践。
该综述强调了验光教育中对EPA的认识不断提高，特别是在将核心能力转化为实际操作以及支持基于工作场所的结构化评估方面。然而，诸如验光领域特定EPA示例有限、需要教师发展以及合适的评估工具等挑战阻碍了其更广泛的采用。其他卫生职业的经验表明，结构化的EPA框架可提高学习者的准备程度并增强患者安全。
EPA为验光教育中的能力评估提供了一种结构化方法，促进临床准备。其整合需要课程调整、教师发展和强大的评估策略。
本综述深入探讨了EPA在验光教育中可能的应用，有助于推进基于能力的培训和评估策略。
