The Graduation Questionnaire (GQ)

School leaders analyze results from the GQ identify strengths and areas for improvement. Your GQ responses are benchmarked to medical student responses across the country so we know how IUSM compares to other schools in each of the questions area. This allows us to address challenges and build on our strengths and successes so that we can continue to strive for excellence in all we do at IU School of Medicine. We read every single comment you read, And truly appreciate your feedback. The GQ is also used by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), our accrediting body, to understand student opinions about IU School of Medicine. This impacts our accreditation and rankings.

The Strategic Student Survey (S3) is an IU School of Medicine-administered survey focused specifically on student experiences during fourth year. We are required to gather data through the S3 as part of LCME reaccreditation.

The GQ is a different survey administered by AAMC to all fourth-year medical students in the United States. It looks at all four years of medical school and allows the school to compare its results to national benchmarks from other schools across the country. The GQ is also important for our LCME accreditation status.

Both are vital to measuring student satisfaction and assessing your educational experience.

• The GQ is administered by the AAMC to all fourth-year students in the U.S. and lets us compare ourselves to the benchmark of other medical schools nationally. We might see that 85 percent of students are satisfied with a specific element of medical education and be inclined to think we’re doing well. But nationally, that might only put us in the lower quartile of all medical schools. The GQ gives us context and helps us identify areas that need work and if recent changes at IU School of Medicine have been effective. The LCME depends on the GQ results in our reaccreditation process.

• The S3 is unique to our school and enables us to gather real-time feedback from each year of medical school and contributes to our LCME reaccreditation process. Each class year takes a unique Strategic Student Survey (S3) that asks about experiences for the current academic year. The highly tailored format provides two advantages:

  • We can be nimble and make changes to specific phases of medical education without having to wait for the results of GQ at the end of a four-year experience.

  • We can measure the impact of any changes we implement by comparing results year-over-year.

Because each medical school is unique, there is some terminology that can be confusing. At IU School of Medicine, we truly believe that it “takes a village” to deliver an excellent medical school experience. We work as a statewide team to accomplish that. Here is a short guide to help you:

GQ Question: Indicate your level of satisfaction with the Office of the Dean for Educational Programs/Curricular Affairs.

Guidance: This question is referring to the large number of individuals who help direct the curriculum, including Paul Ko, MD, the Associate Dean of Curriculum and his team in Phase 1 (Charles Rudick, PhD, Jessica Byram, Ph.D., Claire Crouse, MAT); Phase 2 (Jennifer Schwartz, MD, Neelum Safdar, MT, MEd, and Alecia Craig, MBA); and Phase 3 (Megan Christman, DO, FACOG, Stephanie Freed, MS, Alecia Craig, MBA, and Emily Machogu, MD).

It also includes all the individuals involved in your courses/clerkships/electives throughout all 4 years, including the many statewide and regional campus deans and faculty who are involved in the design, adjustments, and implementation of the curriculum. This group comprises the statewide course management teams that deliver the foundational science courses, clinical clerkships, sub-Internships and electives at each campus location.

GQ Topic: Medical Education Program Definitions

Program objectives are the Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) that guide the entire medical education program and are included in every syllabus and shared at the start of each year via email.

Formative feedback is information communicated to the medical student about how the student is performing in order to improve subsequent performance, if needed. Examples of FF may include performance on quizzes, sample questions, self-study questions, and additionally for the clinical clerkships mid-rotation feedback.

Summative assessments mean the final grade and where appropriate, narrative comments.

SDL (Self-Directed Learning) is confusing. It is not the same as studying an interesting part of medicine on your own time. SDL is a defined pedagogical approach (like lecture or small group) that includes the following elements: the medical student’s self-assessment of learning needs; independent identification, analysis, and synthesis of relevant information; appraisal of the credibility of information sources; and the facilitator’s assessment of and feedback to the student on their information seeking skills. Further confusing the issue, is a linkage between this pedagogy and the time necessary to do it. SDL exercises are included throughout all four years of the IUSM curriculum.

ILT (Independent Learning Time) is the unscheduled time per week to do as the student wishes. The school’s policy (see Student Handbook) on ILT in Phase 1 is that most weeks there should be two blocks of 4 hours each that is not scheduled with formal class activities. Students are able to use this time to study, complete SDL, exercise, schedule appointments and attend to other wellness needs. ILT is not associated specifically with any one course.