Striving for excellence

FMCF and its accompanying write-up were presented in draft format (ie, draft 1)

Following the presentation and a discussion, work groups were formed to critique and provide feedback on the framework

Work groups presented their ideas to the larger group; this was followed by an intensive plenary debate

Revised FMCF (ie, draft 2) was sent to retreat attendees via e-mail to solicit feedback

Additional minor suggestions and changes were incorporated over the next few months

Draft 2 of the FMCF and an accompanying revised write-up were presented

Participants provided feedback

Comments and suggestions were recorded and integrated over the next month

Definitions for the terms in the FMCF were drafted based on relevant literature

Additional information concerning pedagogic strategies was developed by the educational specialist to ensure the framework was grounded in educational theory

Definitions were sent to the small core curriculum working group (director of postgraduate education, administrators, 2 preceptors, including the Director of Evaluations, and the education specialist) to garner clarification, suggestions, and recommendations.

Draft 3 of the FMCF, the accompanying revised write-up, and the definitions were presented

The presentation and discussion of the FMCF generated more “buy in” from stakeholders

Minor suggestions and recommendations were recorded and incorporated

In mid-February 2011, all retreat attendees were e-mailed draft 4 of the FMCF, the accompanying write-up, and the definitions of terms

At the retreat, participants had the opportunity to approve the draft or provide further comments and recommendations

Additional minor suggestions were received and implemented. These changes included the following: creating a more inclusive description of procedural skills; changing the name of Behavioural Medicine to Behavioural Medicine and Mental Health; and including principles of adult education into the write-up of the framework

Final draft of the FMCF was professionally programmed into an interactive version, allowing the definition of the terms to emerge when “moused” over

Interactive version of FMCF was shared with participants

Framework was sent for French translation to accommodate our Francophone preceptors and residents

There were discussions on the generation of learning strategies and evaluation tools, as well as the concept of an e-portfolio or e-dossier

Curriculum search tool (online curriculum database) was also introduced as a mechanism to logically sort through the learning objectives, strategies, and corresponding CanMEDS–Family Medicine roles and 99 key priorities

Functionality of the curriculum search tool was elaborated on

Revised evaluation tools were presented and feedback was recorded for implementation purposes