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EPAs for Pediatric Surgery

Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for pediatric surgery launched on August 1, 2025.

Pediatric Surgery EPAs for Trainees

What are the keys to a successful implementation of pediatric surgery EPAs?

Hear from directors of the Pediatric Surgery Board of the ABS as they discuss what will be necessary to successfully implement pediatric surgery EPAs, including communication of the benefits and providing easy access to training tools.

Pediatric Surgery EPAs are launching soon

Why are EPAs being implemented?

“There is going to be a concrete, shared model of what they need to achieve to become practice ready. I think this provides transparency for feedback, and it hopefully will eliminate the bias of feedback because we look at things differently. We all come from a different lens. But when it's right there in front of us as far as the description to become practice ready it becomes more objective. It becomes more standardized and becomes a shared model that both the trainee and faculty work towards.”
Steven Lee, M.D.
Steven Lee, M.D.Director, PSB-ABS
“One of the reasons we need EPAs is that, in the current state, there isn't any standardization for program directors to say that a trainee or candidate is ready to sit for examination ... EPAs are an opportunity to level the field by providing some consistency for the trainees to strive for certain metrics and for the faculty to evaluate the trainees on a consistent basis.”
Kasper Wang, M.D.
Kasper Wang, M.D.Director, PSB-ABS
EPAs and Pediatric Surgery Trainees

An EPA composite profile will be required during QE application

Beginning in 2028, all applicants to the Pediatric Surgery Qualifying Exam (PSQE) will be required to turn in a composite profile across all EPAs when they apply for the exam. In order to assist trainees in developing a robust composite profile, every resident should be assessed on every rotation.

All program faculty should be trained to function as assessors to promote reliability and validity of the assessment. The use of EPAs for trainees at all PGY-levels to promote consistent habits of meaningful assessment and feedback, and to provide other assessment economies, is strongly encouraged as a best practice strategy.

For more details and information about EPA development, implementation, evaluation, and more, please review the following resources.

EPA FAQs

Pediatric Surgery EPAs Anatomy Visual

The 20 pediatric surgery EPAs and their relation to a patient's anatomy.
EPA Trainee Toolkit

Entrustable Professional Activities Trainee Toolkit

A collection of orienting materials on the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) assessment framework that will be used throughout surgical training and will become a key part of the ultimate pathway to board certification.

How to Use EPAs to Take Charge of Your Training Infographic

An infographic detailing how residents can use EPAs to take charge of their surgical training.

Using EPAs to Support Struggling Residents Infographic

How EPAs can be used to support struggling residents by creating a shared language and a space for constructive feedback.

EPA Implementation Checklist – For Trainees

A checklist designed for residents specifically to aid in the implementation of EPAs.

Prepare for the launch of pediatric surgery EPAs

What members of the pediatric surgery community are saying

Why is the change to EPAs needed and what do these changes mean for trainees and faculty? Members of the Pediatric Surgery Board of the ABS share their views on why EPAs are a valuable education tool.

What steps do programs need to take for a successful implementation of EPAs - Steven Lee, MD
What advice do you have for programs that are preparing to rollout EPAs - Kasper Wang, M.D.
What challenges are we trying to overcome by introducing EPAs - Steven Lee, M.D.
As a faculty member, how challenging is to complete EPAs using the app - Kasper Wang, M.D.

Program Resources

Resources for programs to utilize prior to and during EPA implementation

The ABS team has produced a full suite of resources for programs to use during EPA implementation, which includes documents and guides, training videos, pre-recorded webinars, presentations, and more. Please note that any resource documents linked will be updated regularly.

Implementation Checklist for Programs
To guide programs through the implementation process, the ABS has created this checklist to assist programs in launching pediatric surgery EPAs.
View PDF
Clinical Competency Committee Worksheet
This Excel spreadsheet serves as a tool to help Clinical Competency Committees (CCCs) record summative entrustment decisions for each trainee in their program based on the formative feedback obtained through EPA microassessments in the previous six months. It is also the tool that will form the basis of use as a part of the application for the ABS Pediatric Surgery Qualifying Examination in 2028 and beyond.
View Resource
EPA Worksheet for Clinical Competency Committees - Instructions
The ABS has provided a dynamic spreadsheet as a tool to help Clinical Competency Committees (CCCs) record summative entrustment decisions for each resident in their program based on the formative feedback obtained through EPA microassessments in the previous six months. These instructions include a link to the separate worksheet.
Read the Instructions
Pediatric Surgery EPA Clinical Competency Committee Guide
This document is intended to be a resource for pediatric surgery program Clinical Competency Committees (CCCs) to utilize when reviewing trainee performance with the aid of EPA data. Each EPA phase of care has been linked to the related ACGME Surgery Milestones and can be found in the included tables.
View Resource
Additional EPA Resources

Performing assessments in the app

Pediatric surgery EPAs will be assessed in the ABS EPA App™ for surgical specialties

This step-by-step video walks the viewer through how to create a new assessment using the ABS EPA App™ that is powered by Firefly.

Learn more about the ABS EPA App™
Learn more about the ABS EPA App™
ABS EPA App Totals

EPAs by the numbers

The implementation of general surgery EPAs began on July 1, 2023. Since then, trainees and staff have been using the ABS EPA app to create and complete assessments. The data below shows the most current EPA numbers.  (Data as of December 31, 2023.) 

Total Completed Assessments
42722
Total Users Created 1 or More Assessment
7000
EPA Publications
Check out our publications related to the ABS EPA project
View EPA Publications
Contact Us
Let us know if you have questions about the ABS EPA Project
Contact EPA Project Manager

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