ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Regeneration and Intervention of Neurological Tissue after Acute and Chronic Injuries: from Benchside to BedsideView all 5 articles
Implementing the WHO Rehabilitation Competency Framework in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Context-Specific Adaptation for Neurorehabilitation Training
Provisionally accepted
- Peking University Third Hospital, Haidian, China
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Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) released the Rehabilitation Competency Framework (RCF) in 2020, encompassing five core domains (Practice, Professionalism, Learning & Development, etc.) and cross-cutting values/beliefs, establishing international standards for rehabilitation education. Current neurorehabilitation training in Chinese clinical undergraduate programs lacks competency-oriented systems. For instance, Peking University's existing curriculum only includes 8 lecture hours and optional 2-week practicum, with assessment predominantly based on written examinations rather than competency evaluation. Methods: • Curriculum Design: We eEmployed a Delphi method (3 rounds with 13 experts) to construct an RCF-based curriculum system, defining entry-level proficiency competencies (e.g., Practice P1-P4, Core Values V1-V4). • Implementation: Delivered 8-hour RCF theory plus 2-hour case-based learning (CBL) to 36 eight-year program undergraduates. We conducted paired t-tests to evaluate competency changes pre-and post-intervention.Used paired t-tests for pre-post competency evaluation. The rehabilitation physician competence questionnaire was used as the core assessment tool. Paired t-tests were employed to compare the differences in 13 competence indicators before and after the curriculum reform to verify the effectiveness of the competence-oriented teaching method. Results: • Curriculum Framework: Developed four modules (Professionalism, Foundations, Core Competencies, Intensive Practicum) covering all RCF domains. The Core Competencies module emphasized "Assessment Skills (P3)" and "Evidence-Based Decision Making (R1)". • Outcomes: 13 of 15 competencies showed significant improvement post-设置了格式: 字体: 非加粗 intervention (P<0.05), including technical skills (+1.25 points) and empathy (+0.42 points). Research competency and patient advocacy showed non-significant changes. Conclusion: This study established a closed-loop system of "contextualized competency framework → curriculum development → multidimensional evaluation", demonstrating RCF's effectiveness in enhancing undergraduate rehabilitation competencies. It provides a paradigm for rehabilitation education with Chinese characteristics.
Keywords: WHO, Rehabilitation Competency Framework, Rehabilitation education, Undergraduate Medical Education, Clinical training
Received: 13 Sep 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Yang, Liu and Qi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuanmingfei Zhang, zymf@pku.edu.cn
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