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 and tailored to each student’s schedule.

Completing evaluations is considered a professional responsibility and also an opportunity to shape and improve the learning experience for current and future MD students. Timely, specific, and constructive feedback contributes to the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) of the MD Program by informing real-time improvements to teaching and curriculum. Students are encouraged to complete evaluations immediately following a teacher interaction or learning event to ensure that the feedback provided is as timely, meaningful, and valid as possible.  

Providing meaningful, constructive, and actionable feedback is an integral part of a career in medicine. Physicians must both offer and receive feedback regularly—from peers, supervisors, and patients. Learning to give feedback effectively starts in medical school. The MD Program takes evaluations seriously. Student feedback is regularly reviewed through a structured evaluation system that includes dashboards, monitoring tools, and follow-up processes to ensure action. To promote transparency and accountability, 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 with an opportunity to share feedback on teachers, lectures, seminars, workshops, and the overall course experience. Two weeks after each course ends, the Office of Assessment and Evaluation (OAE) analyzes the evaluation data, including numeric scores and written comments, and generates summary reports that highlight key strengths and areas for improvement. These reports are shared with course directors and program leadership. 

Course directors are then asked to reflect on the feedback and prepare a response report that outlines proposed changes for the following academic year based on the data. These reports are reviewed by the OAE and presented in summary to the MD Program Curriculum Committee to support transparency and accountability. In this way, evaluation data is reviewed on an ongoing basis and, wherever feasible and appropriate, changes are implemented by curriculum leaders within the same academic year. The OAE also regularly reviews and updates course evaluation forms to improve clarity, accessibility, and usability, incorporating student input into the revision process.

Teacher Evaluations

Teacher evaluation forms give students an opportunity to share feedback about specific interactions with teachers, including faculty members, residents, and clinical fellows. The identity of students who complete evaluations is kept confidential. To protect anonymity, a teacher will only receive evaluation reports if at least three students have submitted evaluation forms.

In rare situations, such as when comments indicate a significant risk of serious harm to oneself or others (for example, risk of suicide or harm to another person), a student's identity may need to be disclosed. These exceptions are made only when necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of the student and the broader community.

Confidentiality is essential to support honest and constructive feedback. Teacher evaluation forms are a valuable resource for both educators and the MD Program. They help inform faculty development activities, guide decisions for teaching awards, and contribute to promotion processes.

As future residents and physicians, medical students are encouraged to view the practice of giving meaningful feedback as an essential part of their professional development and their growth as clinicians and educators.