Program evaluation in

Medical Education
Objectives
•Definition of program evaluation
•Reasons for program evaluation
•Standards of program evaluation
Introduction
Program evaluation is the responsibility for anyone
overseeing a medical education program.
The ‘‘program’’ might be situated in a medical school,
during postgraduate training, or throughout continuing
professional development.
Educational program are principally about :CHANGE”.
program evaluation should be designed to determine
whether change has occurred.
Definition
‘‘systematic collection and analysis of information
related to the design, implementation, and outcomes
of a program, for the purpose of monitoring and
improving the quality and effectiveness of the
program.’’
(ACGME 2010).
Program evaluation
•What gets measured gets done.
•If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure.
•If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it.
•If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding failure.
•If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it.
•If you can’t recognize failure, you can’t correct it.
•If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support.
Osborne D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Re-inventing government. New York, NY: Penguin.
Purposes of Program
Evaluation
Purposes of Program Evaluation
•Who needs this evaluation and why? Clearly
define the purpose for the evaluation.
•What questions need to be answered? What
do the stakeholders want to know?
•Who is going to use the evaluation results?
Reasons for program evaluation
There are both internal and external reasons for evaluating their
programs.
Interbal rasons rely mainly on the need to improve and overcome
certain challenges. While, external reasons are often found in
requirements of medical education accreditation organizations, funding
sources persons to whom educators are accountable.
A strong program evaluation process supports accountability while
allowing educators to gain useful knowledge about their program and
sustain ongoing program development.

Fyre A and Hemmer PA (2012):Program evaluation models and related theories: AMEE Guide No. 67
Evaluaion vs Assessment
Formative vs summative
evaluation
•Formative evaluations:
•Help determine what works best
•Accept the fact that negative results are valuable because they
teach you something
•Provide feedback for improvement
•Do not use experimental designs but allow
for interaction and observation
•Used most often with new programs
Summative Evaluation
•Summative evaluations examine the overall quality
and outcomes of a program.
•For decision-making purposes and determine
whether the program has met its intended outcomes
relative to its cost.
•Summative evaluations are usually done for
established programs and completed projects and
conducted by outside experts.
Evaluation vs Research
Standards of program evaluation