An Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA) is a self-contained activity that the typical health professions educator may be expected to perform in the context of his/her professional role. In the MHPE program, with the help of their assigned mentor, learners choose multiple EPAs to develop a learning plan that is relevant to their current educator-leader responsibilities. The EPAs reflect the real world work of an educator. The relevance of learning about the core activities of applied education is central to the purpose of the program. Learners can select whichever EPAs they want as the means for learning core competencies based on the best fit into their current and future professional expectations.
Learners choose from the list of 22 possible EPAs (below) depending on which activities they are required to perform within their job context. Each EPA has references that include a set of readings, examples, subject matter experts, guidelines, demonstrations, and other educational resources for the learner to use in completing a particular EPA. Faculty mentors serve as a key partner in helping the learner decide which resources will be most useful. Often additional resources will be identified that focus on the health profession of interest (i.e. nursing, dentistry, social work) for specific learners.
Each competency within an EPA is associated with one credit, for which the learner must provide appropriate documentation and evidence to the assessment committee for review. Depending on the EPA, the required evidence could be in the form of a paper, video presentation, slide presentation, grant application, portfolio, etc. To graduate, the learner must receive a minimum of 32 credits in total (maximum of 39 credits) and map to each competency at least two times.
List of EPAs
- Select and demonstrate competency in a range of teaching methods
- Learn, network, and contribute within a learning community
- Create compelling presentations employing varied and appropriate media
- Design and implement a curricular intervention
- Select a learning outcome and design, select, and develop an appropriate assessment method
- Design a learner assessment blueprint for a selected educational intervention/curriculum.
- Select and implement an appropriate standard setting method for a selected assessment method and application
- Design and implement a program evaluation of an existing educational program/curriculum
- Critique a curricular change
- Develop a proposal for organizational change
- Implement change in an organizational setting
- Design and implement a research study
- Write a grant proposal to fund an educational research or evaluation project
- Write a scholarly (non-research) position or review paper of publication quality
- Critically review research manuscripts
- Create a Learning Plan
- Create an Educator's portfolio
- Solicit feedback on one's leadership and teaching from multiple observers & critically reflect on it
- Mentor a colleague or learner or consult with an organization
- Custom Professional Activity (Proposed by learner)
- Developing Enduring Educational Resources
