National Consensus Catalog of Psychomotor Competencies for Brazilian Medical Graduates: a modified Delphi study - Part I.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a national consensus catalog of essential psychomotor competencies and establish the minimum expected competence levels for graduating medical students across anesthesiology and surgical specialties in Brazil using a modified Delphi process.

METHODS

This national consensus-development study used a two-round modified Delphi process coordinated by the Brazilian Medical Association. Scientific Committees representing anesthesiology and 14 surgical specialty societies developed preliminary specialty-specific catalogs and proposed the expected competence level for each competency. Board-certified specialists evaluated the competency-competence-level combinations using a five-point Likert scale. Consensus was predefined as ≥75% combined agreement.

RESULTS

A total of 802 specialists participated in the first Delphi round, and 622 completed the second round. The preliminary catalogs comprised 343 competency statements. Of these, 273 (79.6%) achieved consensus, whereas 70 (20.4%) were excluded. During the first Delphi round, participants proposed 103 additional competency statements, of which 90 (87.4%) achieved consensus after evaluation during the second Delphi round. The final consensus catalog comprised 363 specialty-specific psychomotor competencies, corresponding to 244 unique psychomotor competencies after harmonization. Most competencies were classified as Perform independently (n=274), followed by Perform under supervision (n=55) and Master the technique (n=34).

CONCLUSION

This modified Delphi study established a national consensus catalog of psychomotor competencies and expected competence levels for graduating medical students across anesthesiology and 14 surgical specialties. The catalogue provides a national consensus-based reference for competency-based undergraduate medical education. Future studies should evaluate its implementation and educational impact.