Core Competencies Evaluation Tools

Best Practices

The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has endorsed several general competencies for residents across all programs to be included in the training curriculum. These competencies are in the areas of Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism and Systems-based Practice. The ACGME has developed the "Outcome Project" which is a long-term initiative to ensure that institutions have a plan in place to incorporate these competencies into the requirements for resident education and to emphasize educational outcome assessment. The GME Committee at Stony Brook has established the Core Curriculum Committee to develop a plan of action to standardize and present these competencies, and to use best methods for evaluating the residents' training. The Committee has also included Cultural Competencies as a multi-disciplined segment. It is the intention of the Committee to utilize many resources for presentation, including lecture, video and computer-based training, grand rounds and workshops to achieve this outcome.

Evaluation Tools

Download the Final Resident Evaluation Form

Download the Evaluation By Patient Form

Resident Portfolio (Adapted from ACGME, 2002 )

A portfolio is a collection of products prepared by the resident that provides evidence of learning and achievement. Portfolios can be used for both formative and summative evaluation of residents. Portfolios are useful for evaluating mastery of competencies that are difficult to evaluate in other ways such as practice-based improvement, use of scientific evidence in patient care, professional behaviors, and patient advocacy.

Reproducible assessments are feasible when there is agreement on criteria and standards for contents of a portfolio. The validity of portfolio assessment is determined by the extent to which the products or documentation included in a portfolio demonstrates mastery of expected learning.

A portfolio may contain:

• Curriculum Vitae


• Reprints of published scholarly works including clinical studies, scientific articles, clinical reviews, editorials or letters to the editor


• Reprints of Abstracts and Posters


• Unpublished manuscripts of clinical studies, scientific articles or clinical reviews.


• Case-based learning exercises


• Patient presentations


• Other written documents as well as video- or audio-recordings, photographs, and other forms of information


• Log of clinical procedures performed


• Summary of the research literature reviewed when selecting a treatment option


• Quality improvement project plan and report of results


• Ethical dilemmas faced and how they were handled


• Computer program that tracks patient care outcomes


• Recording or transcript of counseling provide to patients


• Teaching experiences, morning report, patient rounds, individualized study or research projects


• Statements about what has been learned, its application, remaining learning needs, and how they can be met