With the advancement of China's medical and healthcare undertakings, general practice, as an emerging discipline, has gained increasing recognition among a growing number of individuals. Standardized training for resident physicians is an indispensable stage for medical students on their journey to becoming proficient doctors. Nevertheless, general practice residency training diverges substantially from traditional disciplines in numerous aspects. Consequently, there was an urgent need to optimize the educational system for general practice residency training.

The Milestones 2.0 evaluation system is applied to conduct self-assessment and peer assessment for general practice residents in training, and the effectiveness of this evaluation system in the training and education of general practice residents is explored.

Thirty-three general practice resident physicians undergoing training at the First Affiliated People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in September 2023 were selected as research subjects. They were divided into first-year, second-year, and third-year groups based on their residency duration. The Milestones 2.0 assessment system, revised by the research team in line with the standards of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the United States and actual circumstances, was utilised to conduct a quantitative evaluation of 19 secondary indicators related to the six core competencies of resident physicians: patient care, medical knowledge, systems-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, and interpersonal and communication skills. Self-assessment data from the residents and corresponding evaluations from their supervising mentors were collected through electronic questionnaires. Differences in competency performance across different residency years, discrepancies between the residents' self-assessments and their mentors' evaluations, and differences in assessment results among individuals with varying educational backgrounds were compared.

The comparison of scores across the dimensions of patient care, medical knowledge, system-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, and interpersonal and communication skills in the Milestones 2.0 self-assessment system among general practice resident physicians at different training levels showed statistically significant differences (P<0.001). A comparison between self-assessment and external evaluation scores for the secondary indicator "evidence-based medicine and evidence-informed medical practice" in the Milestones 2.0 assessment system revealed statistically significant differences (P=0.040). Additionally, the comparison of medical knowledge scores in the Milestones 2.0 self-assessment system between undergraduates and four-certification integrated general practice resident physicians in training also showed statistically significant differences (P<0.05) .

The Milestones evaluation system represents a relatively objective and comprehensive assessment approach, which is of great significance in providing crucial references for formulating the subsequent training plans of resident physicians. When applying this evaluation system to assess the capabilities of general practice residents and highlighting the importance of interaction and feedback throughout the training process, it can effectively contribute to the improvement of the overall professional proficiency and ethical qualities of resident physicians. Ultimately, this effort plays a vital role in advancing the high-quality development of the national medical and healthcare undertakings.