Can we agree on expectations and assessments of graduating residents?

Orthopaedic educators are responsible for training a prepared and competent workforce that will provide effective care for a growing number of patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Currently, there are both internal and external forces that pose substantial challenges to medical students, residents, program directors, faculty members, and chairs in achieving this goal. One area of particular concern is the education of surgeons, whose knowledge and professional behavior must be matched by their ability to acquire procedural skills. In order to address this issue, many training systems have implemented a competency-based training approach into their curricula. This article discusses the efforts that orthopaedic training bodies in Canada and Australia have taken toward competency-based education and what steps the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS), the Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors (CORD), the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) are considering to improve residency education in the current and future environments.