Best of Both Worlds: Strategic Integration of Objective Structured Clinical Examination and Entrustable Professional Activities in Indian Medical Education

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has been incorporated into the Indian Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) framework. However, key issues remain with the high-quality implementation of the OSCE-style assessment in undergraduate university examinations, as opposed to postgraduate examinations. The integration of workplace-based assessment with Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) within a competency-based framework marks the next stage in the development of competency and training assessments. EPAs are useful for bridging the gap between medical training and clinical practice, enabling trainees to apply their proficiencies while empowering them through autonomy in safe patient management. A balanced competencyand workplace-based approach may also help address logistical challenges and fill the gaps associated with OSCEs. It charts the path ahead for the dynamic assessment of attributes, such as professionalism and workplace communication, thereby adding flexibility to the training and evaluation process. Faculty development incorporating adaptive instructional delivery would help strategise for longterm success and achieve holistic real-time evaluation.