Overview

Medical students play an active role in the evaluation of teachers, learning events, courses, and the MD Program as a whole throughout their medical training. Requests and reminders to complete online evaluations in MedSIS are sent by e-mail.

Completing evaluations is considered a professional responsibility of MD students. It also offers them the opportunity to contribute to the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) of the MD Program by providing feedback to the program about our teachers and curriculum.  Students should complete evaluations immediately following a teacher interaction or learning event to ensure that the feedback provided is as timely and valid as possible. 

Providing meaningful, constructive, and actionable feedback is an integral part of a career in medicine, as physicians provide feedback to and receive feedback from their patients and colleagues. The MD Program takes evaluations seriously, and is committed to transparency regarding the evaluation process as well as publicizing the impact of student feedback. The "You Said, We Did" report is issued twice a year and it highlights how students' feedback has informed changes in the MD Program. The MD Program Evaluation Committee has student membership and works with students to ensure efficient and effective evaluation processes. Please visit the Office of Assessment & Evaluation (OAE) webpage for regular updates and for information about Program Evaluation activities.

Course Evaluations

Course evaluation forms provide students an opportunity to communicate their feedback regarding teachers, lectures, seminars, and workshops. Two weeks after the completion of each course, the OAE analyzes all evaluation data (numeric scores and comments) to provide summary reports highlighting strengths and actionable areas of improvement to course directors and program leadership. Course directors are asked to reflect on the data summary and to create a report that is reviewed by the MD Program Curriculum Committee. The report outlines data-informed changes in the course for the next academic year.  In this manner, evaluation data is reviewed on an ongoing basis, and wherever possible and advisable, curriculum leaders act on the data within the academic year. The OAE regularly reviews and refines course evaluation forms to improve their accessibility and usability.

Teacher Evaluations

Teacher evaluation forms provide students an opportunity to communicate their feedback regarding a specific interaction with a teacher, including faculty members, residents, and clinical fellows. The identity of individual students who complete evaluations is confidential. For this reason, a teacher will only receive evaluation reports if at least three students have submitted an evaluation form for the teacher. The confidentiality of teacher evaluations is critical for ensuring high-quality constructive feedback. The identity of individual students who complete evaluations is confidential. For this reason, a teacher will only receive evaluation reports if at least three students have submitted an evaluation form for the teacher.

Teacher evaluation forms are an important resource for teachers and the MD Program as they inform faculty development activities, teaching awards, and promotion for faculty members. As future residents and physicians, medical students should view evaluation feedback as an important tool that will help them become more effective clinicians and teachers.