Scoping review identifies key themes and best practices for course evaluations in health care education, highlighting the need for validated tools and bias reduction.
BACKGROUND: In higher education, student evaluations of courses (SECs) inform the achievement of learning outcomes, accreditation requirements, curricular improvement, and teaching quality, yet research focused on health care education is limited. PURPOSE: To evaluate the literature on SECs in academic health care education and identify themes and best practices. METHODS: Databases were searched from 2015 to 2026. Exclusion criteria included continuing education, program evaluations, reviews, commentaries, non-peer-reviewed publications, and non-English manuscripts. RESULTS: Analysis of 44 studies revealed 5 themes: (1) processes/methods for course evaluations, (2) improving the effectiveness of course evaluations, (3) improving response rates, (4) student and faculty perspectives on course evaluations, and (5) bias in course evaluations. CONCLUSION: SECs in health care education are multifaceted. Best practices include using validated instruments, diverse feedback methods, and response-rate strategies, and addressing bias. Future research should focus on standardization and the effects of evaluation-driven changes on educational outcomes.
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Murphy et al. (2026) studied this question.
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