Evaluation of the MD Curriculum
The School of Medicine is committed to evaluation and providing faculty and administration with timely feedback in order to refine and improve the MD curriculum. In addition, curriculum evaluation is required by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the agency which accredits medical school programs in the United States.
For example, one of the accrediting agency’s requirements (ED-46) is: “To guide program improvement, medical schools must evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program by documenting the extent to which its objectives have been met.”
The Division of Evaluation in the Office of Medical Education (OME) is responsible for overall evaluation of the Stanford MD curriculum. The mission of the Division of Evaluation is to provide rigorous, independent, and timely information for curricular decision making in the School of Medicine.
Student Evaluations
The Division of Evaluation reviews pre-clinical, clerkship, Scholarly Concentration, and Translating Discoveries components of the curriculum. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected to inform decision-making. Student feedback is critical and valued.
In addition, student evaluations of their courses are an accrediting agency requirement, e.g. (ED-47) “In assessing program quality, schools must consider student evaluations of their courses and teachers, and an appropriate variety of outcome measures.
Using Data to Inform Decision Making
The Division's responsibility is to provide timely and rigorous data to inform decision making at all levels in the School. The Division of Evaluation provides curricular feedback concerning pre-clinical (courses), clerkships, Scholarly Concentrations, and Translating Discoveries elements of the MD curriculum. The Division also conducts program evaluations and other evaluation supporting activities including assessing academic advising, student life advising, the "Dean's Letter," proposed new efforts such as Educators 4-CARE, educational techologies (ranging from the CWP to simulations), and teaching and learning. The Division staff members have many other responsibilities including chairing the Clerkship Evaluation Committee and conducting follow-up site visits to clerkship sites.
The Division also collects and reports on outcome data including: Graduation Questionnaire results, STEP 1 and 2 scores, Residency Directors' Assessment of Stanford PGY-1 Alumni, and long term Alumni views.
The span of the Division's primary evaluation activities and responsibilities is presented below.
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact the Division of Evaluation concerning any questions about evaluation in the School of Medicine:
Jennifer Deitz, MA
Managing Director of Evaluation
(650) 498-4954Irinia Russell, Ph.D.
Evaluation Research Analyst
(650) 736-2055Alison Kevan, Ph.D.
Evaluation Research Analyst
(650) 725- 5934Sara Clemons, M.Ed
Assistant Director for Clerkship Education and Evaluation
(650) 725-4677