La valutazione della didattica e della ricerca medica: esperienze a confronto

In medical faculties, teaching and research are carried out together with patient health care. A large body of literature has empirically studied the effects of these joint academic activities, especially in terms of higher hospital costs and better quality of care. An appropriate definition and evaluation of the outputs provided by these institutions and their interactions is crucial to design an efficient and equitable financing scheme. This paper aims at analyzing different methodological approaches which can be used to evaluate medical teaching and research. Some evaluation experiences of both Italian and international institutions are described and critically apprised. The comparative analysis reveals that none of the systems is immune to criticism. Hence, the importance of adopting multiple evaluation methods involving subjective and objective measures as well as qualitative and quantitative approaches.