Development of Obesity Competencies for Medical Education: A Report from the Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative

Abstract

Objective: Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative (OMEC) was formed to develop obesity-focused competencies and benchmarks that can be used by undergraduate and graduate medical education program directors. This article describes the developmental process used to create the competencies. Methods: Fifteen professional organizations with an interest in obesity collaborated to form OMEC. Using the six Core Competencies of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education as domains and as a guiding framework, a total of 36 group members collaborated by in-person meetings, email exchange, and conference calls. An iterative process was used by each working subgroup to develop the competencies and assessment benchmarks. The initial work was subsequently externally reviewed by 19 professional organizations. Results: Thirty-two competencies were developed across the six domains. Each competency contains five descriptive measurement benchmarks for evaluator rating. Conclusions: This set of OMEC obesity-focused competencies is the first evaluation tool developed to be used within undergraduate and graduate medical training programs for both formative and summative assessments. Routine and more robust assessment is expected to increase the competence of health care providers to assess, prevent, and treat obesity. In addition to dissemination, the competencies and benchmarks will need to undergo evaluation for further validity and practicality.