Carek Peter J, Hueston William J
Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29406, USA.
Fam Med. 2004 Oct;36(9):660-3.
During each of the past several years, a nationally circulated periodical (US News & World Report) has provided a ranking of medical schools and their respective specialty departments. In contrast to the method used to rank medical schools, medical specialties, including family medicine, are ranked based solely on ratings by deans and senior faculty at peer schools. This study's purpose was to explore how closely this expert opinion-based process matches actual objective and quantifiable data about departmental performance.
Available quantifiable data in the following categories were obtained: administration, academic productivity, and medical student and resident education. Based on their ranking in a category, each department was awarded one to five stars depending on the quintile they achieved (except for the dichotomous variable pertaining to the presence of a postresidency fellowship). Five stars indicate a ranking in the highest quintile.
In regards to success in administration, research, and residency education and production of family physicians, the departments, on average, were rated 3.4, 4.2, and 3.6 stars, respectively. Overall, half of the departments consistently ranked in the top quartile, as indicated by an average score of 4.0 to 5.0 stars.
Many of the departments rated highly in the US News & World Report rankings of the departments of family medicine rated very high in the areas of administration, research, and education as determined by quantifiable information. In contrast, several highly ranked departments were not rated favorably in areas usually associated with excellence in academics.
在过去几年中，一份全国发行的期刊（《美国新闻与世界报道》）对医学院及其各个专业科室进行了排名。与医学院的排名方法不同，包括家庭医学在内的医学专业排名仅基于同行院校院长和资深教员的评分。本研究的目的是探讨这种基于专家意见的过程与有关科室表现的实际客观可量化数据的匹配程度。
获取了以下几类可用的可量化数据：管理、学术产出以及医学生和住院医师教育。根据各科室在某一类别中的排名，根据其所处的五分位数，每个科室被授予一到五星（除了与住院后奖学金是否存在相关的二分变量）。五星表示排名在最高五分位数。
在管理、研究、住院医师教育以及家庭医生培养方面的成功程度上，各科室平均分别被评为3.4星、4.2星和3.6星。总体而言，一半的科室始终排名在前四分位，平均得分为4.0至5.0星。
在《美国新闻与世界报道》的家庭医学科室排名中获得高分的许多科室，根据可量化信息，在管理、研究和教育领域的评分也非常高。相比之下，几个排名靠前的科室在通常与学术卓越相关的领域中评分并不高。
