Consensus on Core Competency Framework for Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists among China Consortium of Leading Teaching Hospitals in Child and Adolescent Mental Health(2026)

The increasing demand for child and adolescent mental health services in China contrasts sharply with the lack of standardized training criteria for child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) specialists. To develop a core competency framework tailored to the Chinese context, the China Consortium of Leading Teaching Hospitals in Child and Adolescent Mental Health convened a core working group. Following a systematic literature review on competency-based medical education and the construction of an initial item pool, 27 experts in CAP, medical education, and health management participated in a four-round Delphi consultation from October 2025 to February 2026. The process encompassed item screening, importance rating, consensus convergence, and a final review meeting, ultimately resulting in competency assessment criteria with consensus. On this basis, the Consensus on Core Competency Framework for Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists among China Consortium of Leading Teaching Hospitals in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2026) was developed. The resulting framework comprises six core competencies: Medical Knowledge and Skills, Patient Care, Professionalism, Practice-Based Learning, Communication and Collaboration, and Teaching. Each competency is further delineated by clearly defined sub-items. Building upon China's residency core competency framework, this CAP-specific framework emphasizes distinctive features such as a developmental perspective, system-based interventions, transition management to adult services, and digital health, while designating professional well-being and teaching ability as independent competency domains. As the first systematic core competency framework for CAP specialists based on Chinese culture, this consensus provides a structural framework for the homogenization of specialty training among member institutions, and also offers a reference for the development of relevant national-level standards, holding significant implications for advancing the specialist training system and the tiered child and adolescent mental health service system in China.