Potential bias factors that affect the course evaluation of students in preclinical courses

PURPOSE We aim to identify what potential bias factors affected students' overall course evaluation, and to observe what factors should be considered in the curriculum evaluation system of medical schools. METHODS This study analyzed students' ratings of preclinical instructions at the Ajou University School of Medicine. The ratings of instructions involved 41 first-year and 45 second-year medical students. RESULTS There was a statistically significant difference between years of study and ratings' scoring. Learning difficulty, learning amount, student assessment, and teacher preparation from second-year students were significantly higher than first-year students (p<0.05). The analysis results revealed that student assessment was the predictor of ratings from first-year students, while teacher preparation was the predictor of ratings from second-year students. CONCLUSION We found significant interactions between year of study and the students' rating results. We were able to confirm that satisfaction of instructions factors perceived by medical students were different for the characteristics of courses. Our results may be an important resource for evaluating preclinical curriculums.