Prevention education and evaluation in US medical schools: A status report

The Prevention Curriculum Assistance Program (PCAP) was initiated to help U .S. medical schools examine the extent to which they are evaluating the lea rning of medical students about disease prevention/health promotion. A surv ey was sent to all 144 allopathic and osteopathic medical schools, with an overall response rate of 68%. The results revealed more emphasis on teachin g and evaluating the learning of medical students in the areas of clinical preventive services and quantitative methods, and less emphasis on the comm unity dimensions of medical practice and health services organization and d elivery. Written tests and unstructured observation are the most common methods of e valuation. Fewer than half of all respondents were satisfied with the quali ty of their assessment of student achievement in any of the four domains of prevention education. More than 30% expressed a desire to receive assistan ce with designing curricula and/ or evaluation methods in each of the four content areas examined. Several indicated their willingness to assist colle agues who want to improve their prevention curricula and/or measurement str ategies. This study identified a need for more attention and support for prevention education and evaluation programs. Curriculum leaders can help by designati ng prevention a priority area and appointing faculty to be responsible for monitoring the content and quality of prevention teaching throughout the cu rriculum. Resources such as the Internet can be utilized to establish a net work whereby medical schools can collaborate to improve their educational p rograms and evaluation methods in prevention.