Effective factors in planning, implementation, and management of educational program evaluation in medical sciences: A practical guide

BACKGROUND: Educational program evaluation is a complex issue, and it is essential to have knowledge of the potential challenges and solutions during the whole process. The present study aimed to identify the influential components in planning, implementation, and evaluation management of educational programs in medical sciences and then provide an applied guide to guarantee the best possible evaluation by evaluators of educational programs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted in three steps. First, the effective components in planning, implementation, and evaluation management of educational programs in medical sciences were reviewed. Second, experts’ opinion was asked through a focus group discussion regarding the mentioned components. Third, regarding the complied applied guide, the opinions of 40 medical educationist and program evaluation experts were investigated using a checklist. RESULTS: An applied guide for planning, implementation, and evaluation management of educational programs in medical sciences consists of eight stages: determining the evaluation questions and standards, determining the type of information required, determining resources to collect information, determining methods and tools to collect information, determining data analysis methods, determining the timing and frequency of reporting, determining the appropriate ways of reporting, and determining strategies to maintain the cooperation of data sources. CONCLUSION: The spread of educational programs in medical sciences universities leads to an increasing need for program evaluation to provide evidence of their effectiveness and improvement. The present research provided an applied guide to make the evaluation of educational programs feasible by using a set of concepts, principles, methods, theories, and models.