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Call for Papers: Health professions competency-based education (CBE) innovations around the world (BMC Medical Education)

BMC Medical Education’s collection on competency-based education innovations around the world addresses competency-based education models and how they are applied in different countries and health professions. This guide outlines topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks, possible paper ideas and points to confirm before submission.

Pubrica InsightsEditorial team, reviewed by a subject specialist
Deadline
29 January 2027
Last checked
10 November 2026
Reading time
5 min
Sources
1
Submit through the official call

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
29 January 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
BMC Medical Education
Publisher
BMC, part of Springer Nature
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Competency-based education models and how they are applied internationally.
Guest editors
Listed on the official collection page
Access and fees
Open access; an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance
Originality
Original work, not under review elsewhere; confirm on the official page

Topics consistent with the call

  • Implementation of competency-based curricula in health professions programmes across different countries
  • Programmatic assessment and entrustable professional activities in undergraduate and postgraduate training
  • Studies examining how competency frameworks are adapted to local health system needs
  • Evaluation of time-variable progression and competency milestones in clinical training
  • Faculty development and learner experience during transitions to competency-based education
  • Cross-national comparisons of competency-based education models and their outcomes

Based on the published scope; the full list of themes is on the official call page.

Is your work a fit? Check before you write

  1. The manuscript addresses a competency-based education model, framework or assessment approach in the health professions.
  2. The national, institutional and professional context is described so that international readers can interpret it.
  3. Outcomes or implementation findings are reported using appropriate educational research methods.
  4. The work offers lessons that are transferable to programmes in other settings or countries.
  5. The work is complete, approved by all co-authors and ready to submit before the stated deadline.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Competency-based education has shifted attention from time spent in training to the abilities learners demonstrate, and many health professions programmes are now adopting or revising such models. Implementation varies considerably between countries, professions and resource settings, and educators often have limited access to evidence from contexts unlike their own. A themed collection with an international focus allows authors to present implementation experiences, assessment innovations and evaluations together, so that readers can compare how competency-based approaches work under different conditions.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Medical and health professions education
  • Educational assessment and psychometrics
  • Nursing, midwifery and allied health education
  • Postgraduate medical training and residency programme leadership
  • Global health workforce development

Institutions and sectors

  • Universities and medical schools
  • Postgraduate training and accreditation bodies
  • Teaching hospitals and health systems
  • International health workforce and education organisations

Article types commonly published in BMC Medical Education

  • Curriculum development and evaluation studies
  • Educational intervention studies
  • Qualitative and mixed-methods studies
  • Survey and assessment studies

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Evidence from countries or professions where competency-based education has been little studied.
  2. Robust evaluation of implementation, including barriers, facilitators and unintended effects.
  3. Assessment innovations with clear evidence on validity and use in decision-making.
  4. Comparative work that clarifies how context shapes the success of competency-based models.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Adapting entrustable professional activitiesA qualitative study of how a national framework of entrustable professional activities was adapted for a low-resource training setting, drawing on faculty and trainee perspectives.
Programmatic assessment rolloutA mixed-methods evaluation of a programmatic assessment system introduced in a nursing or medical programme, reporting progression decisions and stakeholder experience.
International comparison of milestonesA comparative document analysis and survey examining how competency milestones are defined and assessed across postgraduate programmes in several countries.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 29 January 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 15 Dec 2026

    Open the official collection page and the BMC Medical Education submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 29 Dec 2026

    Write a one-paragraph statement of your research question, design and the contribution your paper makes to the collection.

  3. By 8 Jan 2027

    Complete the analysis and agree the key findings, figures and tables with your co-authors.

  4. By 19 Jan 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the BMC Medical Education article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 24 Jan 2027

    Circulate the draft to co-authors and an independent reader; revise for clarity, accuracy and completeness.

  6. By 27 Jan 2027

    Complete final checks: formatting, references, declarations, data availability statement and cover letter.

  7. By 29 Jan 2027

    Submit through the journal’s online system, selecting the collection, after re-checking the official call page.

What you gain from publishing here

  • Publication in BMC Medical Education, reaching readers working on this topic.
  • A themed collection that groups your paper with related work.
  • Editorial and peer feedback that can strengthen the work, whatever the decision.
  • A peer-reviewed output for your CV, thesis or grant reporting.

What happens after you submit

  1. Submission: upload through the BMC Medical Education online system and select the collection.
  2. Editorial screening: the editors check fit with the collection; papers outside its scope may be returned without review.
  3. Peer review: suitable papers are sent to reviewers under the journal’s review model.
  4. Revision and decision: respond to each reviewer comment and keep a record of the changes.
  5. Production: accepted papers move to proofs and open access publication, with the article processing charge set out by the publisher.

What the Collection Is Looking For

The collection seeks research on competency-based education models in the health professions and how they are applied internationally. In line with BMC Medical Education’s remit, suitable submissions are likely to include curriculum and implementation studies, evaluations of assessment systems, qualitative and mixed-methods research and survey studies. Work that explains its context clearly, reports meaningful outcomes and draws transferable lessons for programmes elsewhere is likely to be of most interest.

Read the call itselfThis guide summarises the call. Open the official collection page before you plan a submission, and record the date you checked it and the guest editors listed.Open the official call

Expert help

How Pubrica Can Help With This Submission

Pubrica’s subject specialists can review, write, edit, format and prepare your manuscript for this call, planned back from the deadline. You remain the author of your work.

Original research article writingManuscript writing from your data, structured to the journal’s article type and reporting guideline. Biostatistics and statistical programmingStatistical analysis plans, analysis, simulation code and statistical review of results. Manuscript editingLanguage and technical editing to prepare the manuscript for submission. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the collection and the journal’s scope. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the journal’s online submission system.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 29 January 2027. Collections can close early or be extended, so confirm the date on the official call page before you plan your submission.

The guest editors are listed on the official collection page. Check their research interests, as they help to judge whether your manuscript fits the collection.

A descriptive account may be considered if it includes systematic evaluation and transferable lessons, but purely descriptive reports may be less competitive. Authors should check which article types the collection accepts and confirm the scope on the official call page.

BMC journals publish articles open access, and an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance. Check the journal’s fees and funding page, and whether your institution has an agreement that covers the charge, before you submit.

Sources

  1. BMC Medical Education. (2026). Health professions competency-based education (CBE) innovations around the world [Collection call for papers]. BMC, part of Springer Nature. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://link.springer.com/collections/fhbjafcjge

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Health professions competency-based education (CBE) innovations around the world (BMC Medical Education). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/health-professions-competency-based-education-cbe-innovations-around-t/

  • Competency-based education
  • Health professions education
  • Assessment
  • Entrustable professional activities
  • International

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Health professions competency-based education (CBE) innovations around the world (BMC Medical Education)Deadline 29 January 2027

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