Utility of Educational Objectives: A Study of Learner and Program Director Perceptions of Their Value in Clinical Courses

Abstract

Background: Educational objectives are widely regarded as valuable adjuncts to learning. Nevertheless, there is relatively widespread antipathy to the use of objectives in clinical courses. Purpose: To assess how directors of clinical education programs and undergraduate and postgraduate students in those programs perceive and use educational objectives. Methods: We conducted intensive, semistructured interviews with directors and learners in three small and three large clinical programs at McGill University in Montréal, Québec. We sought information on the current status of objectives as guides of the educational process and on the perceptions of interviewees of the usefulness of and problems associated with educational objectives. Results: There were major differences in how objectives are used and perceived across the six programs. These differences were apparent in both the undergraduate and postgraduate programs. There were mismatches between learner and director perceptions of the status of objectives. There is little uniformity with respect to how objectives are used to define program content and to guide the evaluation process. Conclusions: There are significant problems with the way educational objectives are used and perceived by learners and directors in six important clinical programs at our medical school.