ABSTRACT
The urgency for healthcare reform was made evident by the Institute of Medicine seminal report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Key proposals for transformation followed shortly in Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the Twenty-First Century. Next, focus on the healthcare workforce as an instrument to advance necessary change was proposed in Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality. Against this historic backdrop, the origin of the competency conversation was fostered. This chapter is designed to nudge a thought process on linkages between competencies and grooming a healthcare workforce, in as much transition as the healthcare system, and imagining potential in such a vision. A success story is shared that demonstrates the potential between competencies and accreditation. Academia plays a pivotal role in nurturing this connection. The chapter concludes with an example of how competencies served as a viable framework for an academic program; one that will contribute to a career-ready healthcare workforce.
