title: The structure of program evaluation: an approach for evaluating a course, clerkship, or components of a residency or fellowship training program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Directors of courses, clerkships, residencies, and fellowships are responsible not only for determining whether individual trainees have met educational goals but also for ensuring the quality of the training program itself. The purpose of this article is to discuss a framework for program evaluation that has sufficient rigor to satisfy accreditation requirements yet is flexible and responsive to the uniqueness of individual educational programs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We discuss key aspects of program evaluation to include cardinal definitions, measurements, needed resources, and analyses of qualitative and quantitative data. We propose a three-phase framework for data collection (Before, During, and After) that can be used across undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This Before, During, and After model is a feasible and practical approach that is sufficiently rigorous to allow for conclusions that can lead to action. It can be readily implemented for new and existing medical education programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA. sdurning@usuhs.mil
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Durning
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hemmer
authors.forename: Louis N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Pangaro
mesh_terms: D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D003479:Curriculum; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States