Assessment Objectives
Competence has been defined as:
"the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served." Epstein & Hundert, 2002
Understanding The Sentinel Habits
The following documents provide further information for understanding the skills required for each of the Sentinel Habits.
| Professionalism | Clinical Reasoning Skills |
| Selectivity | The Patient-Centred Approach |
| Procedure Skills | Communication Skills |
Priority Topics
The following document describes the 99 Priority Topics and key features that family physicians have identified as been relevant to Family Medicine.
Relationship Between Sentinel Habits, Skill Dimensions and CanMED Roles
We use Sentinel Habits to direct attention to the higher order skills, approaches, and attitudes essential to being a competent family physician. The Sentinel Habits are phrased in everyday language, yet map to the College of Family Physicians Essential Skill Dimensions of Family Medicine, and to the CanMEDS-FM roles.
| Sentinel Habit | CanMED Roles |
|---|---|
|
Incorporates the patient's experience and context into problem identification and management. |
Family Medicine Expert |
|
Generates relevant hypotheses resulting in a safe and prioritized differential diagnosis. |
Family Medicine Expert |
| Manages patients using available best practices. Skills Dimension(s): Clinical Reasoning Skills Selectivity |
Family Medicine Expert |
|
Selects and attends to the appropriate focus and priority in a situation. |
Family Medicine Expert |
|
Uses generic key features when performing a procedure (such as |
Family Medicine Expert |
|
Demonstrates respect and/or responsibility to patients, colleagues and staff. |
Professional Health Advocate |
|
Verbal or written communication is clear and timely. |
Communicator |
| Helps others learn (teaches colleagues in a useful manner), promotes effective practice quality (eg. EMR use, practice audits), seeks and responds appropriately to guidance and feedback. Skills Dimension(s): All Skills Dimensions |
Scholar Leader All Roles |
Clinical Domains
Family Medicine encompasses care across a wide range of populations and contexts. We organize this diversity into Clinical Domains to help organize your thinking as you learn to be a competent family physician.