Aim:

Competency-based medical education has become increasingly prevalent among surgical accreditation bodies that conduct assessments to ensure the competency of future professionals and judge the adequacy of training programs.

Materials and methods:

Cross-sectional study to validate an instrument to evaluate entrustable professional activities (EPA) according to the Single Program of Medical Specialties through content and construct validity by expert judgment, and internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha.

Results:

Four of the rubrics scored high to optimal for univocity and relevance. Only one rubric had to be modified in two of its items. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.97). When applying the instrument, the residents showed differences in the level of competence according to postgraduate year, identifying better performance in the last year.

Discussion:

The instrument was validated with a high degree of reliability in univocity and relevance, and high internal consistency. The residents demonstrated appropriate EPA to manage surgical patients safely, efficiently, with quality and warmth. The ability to reach the strategic level of performance is the main component of the competency-based medical education through the EPA.