Evaluation of the Professional programme in Medicine

NOKUT is conducting an evaluation of the Professional programmes in Medicine in Norway. The programmes are available at NTNU, the University of Bergen, the University of Oslo, and UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. The evaluation started in January 2023, and the final report will be published in February 2025. Evaluating the quality of higher education in Norway forms part of NOKUT’s work to assure quality in education and stimulate quality enhancement.

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The evaluation objectives

The evaluation will generate knowledge about the quality of the Professional programmes in Medicine and facilitate quality enhancement. It should provide arenas for the exchange of knowledge and experiences, identify key challenges, and provide recommendations on quality enhancement.

The evaluation context

In line with the national evaluation framework (see nasjonalt rammeverk for evaluering av forskning og høyere utdanning), NOKUT is to coordinate the evaluation of the Professional programmes in Medicine with the Research Council of Norway (see Evaluation of medicine and health sciences). Predictability, limiting the workload of the institutions, and contributing to the use of updated information about quality in research and higher education are expected outcomes of this coordination effort.

NOKUT’s evaluations are rooted in the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the Higher Education Area (ESG 2015). The standards and guidelines have been incorporated in NOKUT’s Principles for external evaluations.

The evaluation process

The evaluation should be useful for those working with the Professional programmes in Medicine, and the evaluation is therefore co-designed with stakeholders. Dialogue is facilitated through input meetings and through the evaluation’s reference group.

Evaluation data will include the universities’ self-assessments with documentation, digital site visits, surveys, registry data from DBH and data from the National Student Survey. It may also include other quantitative and qualitative data.

Input meetings

Digital input meetings with stakeholders were held in January and February 2023. The stakeholders were invited to raise issues that they would like the evaluation to examine, and they were invited to suggest what kinds of competencies and experience NOKUT should include in the expert panel.

Expert panel

The evaluation’s expert panel is responsible for assessments of educational quality and for writing the final evaluation report. NOKUT is responsible for the evaluation methodology, for data collection and for administrative support. The composition of the panel is based on input from stakeholders and is in line with the Principles for NOKUT’s external evaluations. The participating universities were given the opportunity to comment on the proposed panel.

The expert panel comprises:

  • Committee leader Berit Eika, University director, Aarhus university
  • Anette Fosse, Director of Norwegian Centre for Rural Medicine, UiT – Norway’s Arctic University
  • Maja Elisabeth Mikkelsen, student representantive, NTNU
  • Riitta Möller, associate professor, Karolinska Institutet
  • Arne Tjølsen, professor, University of Bergen
  • Trond Vartdal, Oslo University Hospital

Reference group

In addition to the expert panel, the evaluation also includes a reference group. The group includes four representatives from each of the four study programmes, as well as representatives from the regional health authorities, the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the Norwegian Medical Association, and the Norwegian Medical Student Association. The reference group will provide input and feedback at key stages of the evaluation process.

Terms of reference

This document presents the evaluation’s terms of reference, including information about the evaluation themes and evaluation questions, and the data collection plan. The terms of reference are based on input from stakeholders, including representatives from the four study programmes participating in the evaluation. An earlier version of the document was discussed in the evaluation's reference group on 20 April 2023. They provided useful feedback on the delineation and communication of the evaluation themes. The terms of reference were finalised by NOKUT and the evaluation's expert panel. Read Terms of reference for NOKUT’s evaluation of the Professional programme in medicine.

The self-assessment

The self-assessment form will be discussed with the external reference group. NOKUT will encourage the universities to facilitate an inclusive process for work on the self-assessment responses, in order to promote dialogue around key challenges and opportunities for quality enhancement. The self-assessment should be supported by relevant documentation.

About the interviews with placement supervisors

We have conducted a total of 16 interviews with placement supervisors: Two supervisors from the specialist health service and two supervisors from the primary health service, from each of the four medical degree programmes. The interviews were conducted on Teams. They are intended to provide knowledge about how placements are organised and the supervision the medical students receive, as well as the supervisors' views on the placements. The interviews form part of the data material for the expert panel’s final report. The interview guide was developed by NOKUT and the expert panel.

About the surveys

We are conducting two surveys in the evaluation: One survey among active medical students and one among teaching staff at the Professional Programme in Medicine. The surveys will contribute information about the medical students and their educators, as well as the views of these key stakeholder groups. The survey data will form part of the data material for the expert panel’s final report. However, NOKUT will share survey data with the institutions as soon as possible, and publish survey results in interim reports.

The questionnaires are developed by NOKUT, with input from the expert panel. The survey is based on the data needs of the expert panel. We have received feedback from the reference group, the four institutions, students and other relevant stakeholders.

Both surveys have been processed and approved by Sikt Data Protection Services. The surveys are adapted to the specific nature of the medical degree programmes. There is significant overlap between the questions in the survey of students and teaching staff, so the results from the two surveys are largely comparable.

  • The survey among teaching staff will be sent out on the 26th of January and the survey will close on the 26th of February. The survey is sent to all teaching staff that the institutions state are linked to their Professional Programme in Medicine.
  • The student survey is sent out during week 7 and closes on the 15th of March. It will be sent to all students who were registered as medical students in Sikt on the 15th of October 2023. The responding students can enter the draw for 10 gift cards of NOK 1,000 and 5 gift cards of NOK 2,000.

The site visits

The site visit is digital and runs for two days. The expert panel will lead each visit and will interview key persons attached to the Professional programme in Medicine. This may for example include programme heads, departmental or faculty leadership, teaching staff, administrative staff, students, and important external partners such as representatives from university hospitals.

Tentative milestones

Time Aktivity
January 2023 NOKUT conducts input meetings with stakeholders
March 2023 The institutions receive the proposal for the expert panel
April 2023 Reference group meeting about proposed evaluation themes and questions
May/June 2023 NOKUT publishes the evaluation themes and questions
August 2023 Reference group meeting about the proposed self-assessment form
September/December 2023 The universities write their self-assessment
February 2024 NOKUT hosts a seminar for evaluation participants
April 2024 The expert panel completes digital site visits
December 2024 The universities receive the draft for the final report
February 2025 NOKUT publishes the final report

Contact NOKUT

If you have any input or inquiries, please contact project leader Inger-Lise Kalviknes Bore.

 

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