Program Evaluation in Medical Education: An Overview of the Utilization-focused Approach

Medical school administrators, educators, and other key personnel must often make difficult choices regarding the creation, retention, modification, or termination of the various programs that take place at their institutions. Program evaluation is a data-driven strategy to aide decision-makers in determining the most appropriate outcome for programs within their purview. The purpose of this brief article is to describe one program evaluation model, the utilization-focused approach. In particular, we address the focus of this model, the personal factor, the role of the evaluator, and the evaluation process. Based on the flexibility of this model as well as its focus on stakeholder involvement, we encourage readers to consider the utilization-focused approach when evaluating programs.