In Focus

An Update on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in the United States: The ADEA Compendium EPA Workgroup

Denice Stewart, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, USA 

Over the past 10 years, the use of competency-based assessment in U.S. dental schools has evolved. Several seminal events influenced the development and adoption of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) to demonstrate the practice readiness of new dental graduates. In 2018, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) convened the ADEA Compendium of Clinical Competency Assessment Workgroup with the goal to establish reliable and valid methods of assessment using multiple assessments, over time, by various faculty. This group recognized the importance of independent/unsupervised practice across various contexts and identified EPAs as a potential way forward. In 2022, the ADEA Compendium EPA Workgroup was formed to develop EPAs for U.S. dental education.

The current workgroup has developed a list of 11 core EPAs with accompanying specifications and a glossary, which were vetted with dental educators and experts in the use of EPAs in the health professions. Domains of competence are being collaboratively developed with the ADEA Council of Faculties.

The ADEA Compendium EPA work to date will be presented and the use of EPAs in U.S. dental schools will be reviewed. One goal in the next phase of work is to develop international collaboration among dental education institutions on the use of EPAs.

A report of this work is published in the April 2024 issue of the Journal of Dental Education.

Oral Health Edu Erasmus Project - key learning and next steps 

The O-Health-Edu consortium completed its work in 2023 with the drafting of a number of final publications on the state and future of oral health professionals Education in Europe. This brief session share key final learning and outlines how the work will continue to be embedded within ADEE going forward. 

Jonathan Dixon, University of Sheffield UK  and Stephanie Tubert University Clermont Ferrand, France