Report of colloquium II: the theory and practice of graduate medical education--how do we know when we have made a "good doctor"?

Participants of the second colloquium of the Residency Review and Redesign in Pediatrics (R(3)P) Project considered 3 primary questions: What is a "good doctor"? How do we make one? and How do we know when we have made one? Experts from other countries and other medical specialties helped participants wrestle with these most basic questions. Participants emerged with a better feeling of the utility of different types of evaluations needed to determine resident competence. It was clear that the complexity of the task requires faculty education and development. Most important, it requires the ongoing commitment of all of pediatrics as we seek to link education directly to better health outcomes for children, adolescents, and young adults.