Designing structured postgraduate training programs using agile methods.

Abstract

Postgraduate medical education (PGME) is an essential part of medical education and increasingly shifts into focus of educational stakeholders. Structured postgraduate medical training programs are required in the U.S. through the "American Council for Graduate Medical Education" (ACGME) guidelines with their six core competencies as common program requirements. The basis for this development was provided in Germany with the implementation of the "Standard Framework for Postgraduate Medical Training" (Musterweiterbildungsordnung) issued by the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer). However, implementation has been gradual and program development is often conducted in a time consuming, lengthy and top-down approach without that trainee experiences or needs are being assessed or evaluated for their impact on successful medical training. We demonstrate how application of agile working can enable rapid and efficient creation and implementation of a novel postgraduate training program. The postgraduate training program ped.tracks aims to achieve a high-quality, structured and reliable postgraduate training. Moreover, it provides the opportunity to select a priority on scientific or clinical education. The entire process from the first draft to full release of the program was completed within 8 months through agile working. Our team worked using agile working techniques, creating a trainee- customized and -centred program. We anticipate that the quantity of structured postgraduate training programs will significantly increase in Germany and Europe to improve training quality and employee satisfaction. Therefore, the use of agile methods for the creation and implementation of structured training programs represents a useful approach to support program directors rapidly and effectively in this effort.