Dr. Theodorus Jan (Olle) ten Cate selected by NBME as Recipient of the 2017 John P. Hubbard Award
The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) is pleased to announce that Theodorus Jan (Olle) ten Cate, PhD was selected as the recipient of the 2017 John P. Hubbard Award. The award is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the pursuit of excellence in the field of evaluation in medicine. Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, chair of the 2017 Hubbard Award Committee, announced Dr. ten Cate's selection at the Annual Meeting of the NBME Membership on March 30, 2017.
In presenting the award, Dr. McMahon stated: "In recognition of outstanding contributions to evaluation in medicine, I am pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2017 Hubbard Award is Olle ten Cate, PhD. In selecting Dr. ten Cate as the recommended award recipient, the Hubbard Award Committee noted his significant, innovative, and sustained contributions to assessment in medical education, advancing the field for over 35 years. Among his many achievements, the Hubbard Award Committee members noted in particular his groundbreaking work in the conceptualization and design of entrustable professional activities (EPAs), as well as his work in competency assessment, multisource feedback, workplace-based assessment, publications and mentorship of doctoral students. Quoting his letter of nomination, Dr. ten Cate’s is ‘a pioneer who has advanced assessment in medical education.'"
As Dr. McMahon continued, "Olle ten Cate is among the most influential contemporary medical educators in the world today. A brilliant medical education innovator and theorist, he is the creator of EPAs, a medical education approach that has arguably transformed assessment. Olle ten Cate's work spans many aspects of the field of medical education, but it is perhaps his work in competency-based medical education (CBME) and EPAs which has had the greatest impact. EPAs are now widely used in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, and many other countries. Since the time he conceptualized them, he has tirelessly and generously shared his expertise worldwide. His EPA and CBME work now forms the basis of numerous curricula and systems in multiple jurisdictions. His concept of 'entrustment' is now a core concept of medical education. Perhaps hundreds of thousands of trainees and their teachers have been impacted. Truly, Olle can be considered one of the founders of the modern CBME movement."
Dr. ten Cate is professor of medical education at University Medical Center Utrecht, adjunct professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and adjunct professor of medicine at Unified Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
The NBME established the Hubbard Award in 1983 in special tribute to the late John P. Hubbard, MD. Honoring Dr. Hubbard as a principal, guiding force of the NBME, this award acknowledges his creative and inspired leadership of the organization during his 25-year tenure as its chief executive. Dr. ten Cate deservedly joins the ranks of the distinguished individuals whom the NBME has honored over the years with this prestigious award. His selection as the recipient followed a call for nominations published widely in the spring of 2016. The 2017 Hubbard Award Committee, chaired by Graham T. McMahon, MD, MMSc, included as members: Peter G. Anderson, DVM, PhD; Joseph R. Grande, MD, PhD; Eric S. Holmboe, MD; Brian Hodges, MD, PhD; and Melissa Margolis, PhD.