The CanMEDS partnership would like to thank the many physicians and participants who took the time to respond to the 2023 CanMEDS Open Call. We are pleased to have collected 7,466 completed submissions, plus an additional 13,817 comments and more than 70 uploaded reports, videos, letters and illustrations.

The extensive input provided during this national consultation reflects how passionately our community feels about the competency framework and its continued representation of our shared focus and values on patient care and health outcomes.

Next steps: Independent qualitative analysis

The Open Call responses will undergo an independent qualitative analysis led by 2-3 external methodologic experts. The results of this analysis will be collated with other sources of data collected throughout national consultations since 2021, which include:

• the environmental scan,
• literature review, and
• the ongoing contributions of the Expert Working Groups and e-panels.

It will take several months to compile and analyze the data received to date. During 2024, CanMEDS project contributors will methodically reflect on the data and begin work to co-create a working draft of the revised competency framework. As we are still early in the process, there will be future opportunities for additional public consultations.  

Adding a contemporary lens to CanMEDS

The purpose of the CanMEDS update is to ensure advances in medicine and technology as well as changes in societal needs are considered in the educational framework. Fundamentally, CanMEDS is a physician competency framework offering a shared definition of the essential abilities of all physicians regardless of specialty. This contributes to excellence in health care standards and must be dynamically changing and responsive to societal health care needs.   

The competency framework impacts:

• the training delivered to prepare physicians for practice, and
• contemporary professional development resources to support physicians in improving patient care and health outcomes.

The CanMEDS update is intended to add a contemporary lens to the competency framework and take into consideration the emerging themes that were determined through the extensive literature review and environmental scan.

What are the guiding principles of the CanMEDS project?

Reviewing and revising the competency framework is a responsibility shared by the national accrediting and certifying bodies together with the medical schools and with input from the broader community of health professionals and the public. When the framework is reviewed, the CanMEDS partnership makes every effort to conduct broad consultations.

The consultation process is anchored in collaboration and respectful and professional dialogue. The process is intended to foster a transparent approach through which to explore diverse ideas and opinions, with opportunities for exchange and debate. Physicians, learners, health care workers, universities, hospitals, partner organizations and patient groups have been and will continue to be at the core of this consultation process.

Canada’s medical system contributors must consider many elements that impact patient care. We are thankful to those who, through this consultation process, offered thoughtful insights, which will be used to guide the framework’s revisions.

We welcome any further feedback at canmedsproject@royalcollege.ca and encourage you to participate in future national consultations.