Module 10: General Principles of Evaluation

Completing the Evaluation Picture

Evaluation is a critical part of any organized educational program and strong programs often evaluate multiple aspects of their programs. Graduate medical education programs emphasize comprehensive evaluation systems, in part, because of the emphasis the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education places on evaluation. The evaluation data provide a road map for enhancing the graduate medical educational experience.

Common types of Graduate Medical Education (GME) evaluation include the following:

• Attending physician evaluations of the learner (students, resident, fellows).
• Learner evaluation of the teacher.
• Learner evaluation of the educational program (conferences, clinical rotations, resources available).
• Peer evaluations of the learners.
• Peer evaluations of the teachers.
• Annual evaluation of the outcomes of the educational program by faculty and learners.
• Graduate surveys of the quality of the educational program.
• Performance on standardized and/or national exams.

Other useful but less common types of GME evaluation include:

• Nursing and ancillary staff evaluation of the learner.
• Patient evaluation of the learner and/or patient satisfaction data.
• Learner portfolios, a collection of products prepared by the learner that provides evidence of achievement.
• Simulations or standardized patients.
• Comments from off site preceptors on the quality of the learner as compared learners from other programs.