Triple C: linking curriculum and assessment.

This article is part of a series describing the key elements of the Triple C Competency-based Curriculum.1-6 It highlights how different frameworks introduced by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) can be used to design and implement residency programs, and teach and assess family medicine residents. The overarching viewpoint from which to understand these frameworks and their contributions lies in the goal of residency training: to develop professional competence to the level of a physician ready to begin practice in the specialty of family medicine. The vision of our College is to produce family physicians who are confident and competent to practise comprehensive and continuing care anywhere in Canada. Residency programs must therefore provide residents with relevant learning experiences to gain competence in these areas. To understand Triple C’s role in residency education it is helpful to articulate its 2 distinct intents: 1) to be a curriculum that clearly identifies expected outcomes and 2) to provide a process that ensures learners are assessed for competence. Both curriculum design and assessment processes are interdependent features of a Triple C Competency-based Curriculum. The critical components that link curriculum and assessment within Triple C are the relevant learning experiences within which learners acquire competencies and are assessed for competence.