Moving From Entrustability to Expertise Through Personalised Coaching and Productive Struggle

We read the article by Gallen et al. [1] with interest and share their view that current check-box competency assessments and entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are by themselves inadequate to adjudge clinical expertise (which some may call acumen). As the authors alluded to, these come through real-world experiences and iterative metacognitive/reflective practices on clinical decisions. However, we do not quite agree that competency and EPAs ought to be categorised in the same broad brush. The intent of EPAs, developed by Olle ten Cate, is to operationalise competencies in real-world clinical tasks—which means assessments are based on actual workplace observations of trainees' clinical decision-making [2]. Hosea Nyanavoli: writing – original draft. Jessele S. Y. Lai: writing – original draft. Isaac K. S. Ng: writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, supervision. The authors have nothing to report. The authors have nothing to report. The authors have nothing to report. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors have nothing to report.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The Clinical Teacher
Published
2026-01-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.70361
Primary Topic
Innovations in Medical Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Moving From Entrustability to Expertise Through Personalised Coaching and Productive Struggle

Hosea Nyanavoli, Isaac K. S. Ng, Jessele S. Y. Lai
The Clinical Teacher
Innovations in Medical Education
article

Moving From Entrustability to Expertise Through Personalised Coaching and Productive Struggle

Hosea Nyanavoli, Isaac K. S. Ng, Jessele S. Y. Lai
article en

Abstract

We read the article by Gallen et al. [1] with interest and share their view that current check-box competency assessments and entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are by themselves inadequate to adjudge clinical expertise (which some may call acumen). As the authors alluded to, these come through real-world experiences and iterative metacognitive/reflective practices on clinical decisions. However, we do not quite agree that competency and EPAs ought to be categorised in the same broad brush. The intent of EPAs, developed by Olle ten Cate, is to operationalise competencies in real-world clinical tasks—which means assessments are based on actual workplace observations of trainees' clinical decision-making [2]. Hosea Nyanavoli: writing – original draft. Jessele S. Y. Lai: writing – original draft. Isaac K. S. Ng: writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, supervision. The authors have nothing to report. The authors have nothing to report. The authors have nothing to report. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors have nothing to report.

The Clinical TeacherVol. 23(2)
National University of Singapore (SG), National University Hospital (SG)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 76%
Innovations in Medical Education
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Moving From Entrustability to Expertise Through Personalised Coaching and Productive Struggle — Hosea Nyanavoli, Isaac K. S. Ng, et al. · The Clinical Teacher (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS