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. 2024 Oct 25;19(10):e0305996.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305996. eCollection 2024.

Internal evaluation of medical programs is more than housework: A scoping review

Sujani Kodagoda Gamage  1 , Tanisha Jowsey  1 , Jo Bishop  1 , Melanie Forbes  1 , Lucy-Jane Grant  1 , Patricia Green  1 , Helen Houghton  1 , Matthew Links  1 , Mark Morgan  1 , Joan Roehl  1 , Jessica Stokes-Parish  1
Affiliations

Internal evaluation of medical programs is more than housework: A scoping review

Sujani Kodagoda Gamage et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this scoping review was to explore current program evaluation practices across various medical schools.

Methods: We conducted searches in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier) and ERIC (ed.gov) for original research and review articles related to medical education evaluation with key words evaluation, program, medical education, pre-registration, framework, curriculum, outcomes, evaluation, quality. We followed Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) process for scoping reviews.

Results: Thirty-two articles were included. Studies were primarily concerned with either proving (n = 21) or improving efficacy of their programs (n = 11). No studies aimed at comparing programs. Nine were literature reviews. Others aimed to develop a new evaluation model (n = 7) or apply (n = 12) or validate (n = 4) an existing model (or part thereof). Twenty-two studies explicitly identified an evaluation model they had used or would recommend. Most frequently used models for evaluation were: Context-Input-Process-Product, Kirkpatrick, World Federation Medical Education, and the Standards by Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. Overall, evaluations were learner-focused and accreditation driven with a minority considering the broader influences of program success.

Conclusion: Program evaluation is fundamental to driving the quality of education delivered to produce workforce-ready healthcare professionals. The focus of current evaluations is on student experience and content delivery with a significant gap in the existing literature on evaluation related to staff, learner/staff well-being, equity, diversity, and meta evaluation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA flow diagram for study selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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