Quality management: transition to medical making the education

Abstract

The quality of medical education is lamentable. The quality-management approach (QM) is prescribed as a remedy. However, the different nomenclatures used in QM or education may give rise to misunderstanding. Resistance to quality management strategies can be observed in medical education in spite of the merits of QM in the industrial field. A literature review was carried out, demonstrating the isomorphism among management features of the different fields by concept mapping, and a case study of the implementation of QM in medical education. MedLine does not focus on quality management in medical education. The nomenclature of QM and education is different; however, it was translated and used for instructional design purposes in the Munich Curricular Innovation Project (M-CIP). Quality management's key concept of evaluation can evidently be applied for educational purposes. Evaluation is the central underlying structure in both approaches. QM and education represent different contexts but their underlying concepts (e.g. statistical process control) are isomorphic. Quantification of quality by evaluation using operationalized, structured terms is a universal methodological approach which allows the determination of quality from different contexts. QM models, such as the PDCA cycle, can be used for instructional design purposes as experienced in the Munich Curricular Innovation Project as well as in several existing quality improvement projects. The evaluation results of the QM-driven educational projects demonstrate improved teaching/learning quality, cost containment and are accepted by students and teachers as well. It is concluded that methods of quality management can evidently be transferred to the educational field. The evaluational feedback loops fundamentally applied in QM also work in education. This is relevant for improving the quality of medical education.