Competency-based education has become the preferred model in healthcare education. There are multiple benefits to this outcomes-based approach for various stakeholders, including the learner, the educator, the profession, and society.

Benefits for the Learner
  • Learners visualize what is needed to become a veterinarian through competencies.
  • Learners have a clear roadmap to becoming a veterinarian through milestones.
  • Learners develop confidence for Day-1 practice through performing entrustable professional activities.
Benefits for the Faculty
  • Educators use Day-1 competencies to distill what is needed to train a competent graduate.
  • Educators use milestones to guide and support learners’ growth through developmental stages to achieve competence.
  • Educators use backward design to develop curricular content and activities constructively aligned with competencies and milestones.
  • Educators use entrustable professional activities to guide workplace-based assessment and feedback.
  • Educators benefit from more engaged learners who take responsibility for their learning and seek feedback.
Benefits for the Profession
  • Veterinary graduates reliably master strategically identified competencies, ensuring the reputation and relevance of the veterinary profession.
  • Upon graduation, veterinarians are optimally equipped to assume an array of professional roles relevant to rapidly evolving health and environmental landscapes.
Benefits for Our Patients, Employers, and Society
  • Graduates demonstrate essential competencies to effectively serve individual patients, animal populations, and their societies.
  • Employers use competencies to establish expectations and to mentor new graduates in professional development.
  • Graduates are better prepared to engage in interprofessional collaboration and systems-thinking to solve complex problems.
Benefits for Veterinary Programs and Academic Leadership
  • Veterinary educational programs use standardized outcomes to optimize curricular development.
  • Veterinary educational programs use a common framework for collaboration on shared curricular models.
  • Veterinary educational programs share instructional and assessment tools to efficiently and effectively achieve high quality educational outcomes.
  • Educational leaders use standardized rubrics for evaluating curricular outcomes to facilitate quality improvement and accreditation.