The Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) is a confidential survey that senior medical students across the country take between February and June each year, during their final year of medical school. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) administers the survey.
The survey takes around 30 to 45 minutes to complete, depending on how much you want to share.
Why Should I Take the GQ?
- It is vital to IU School of Medicine’s continued LCME accreditation that a large percentage of students (80% or more) provide their feedback through the GQ each year.
- The school uses the anonymous student feedback from the GQ to make tangible rapid and ongoing changes to the curriculum and overall student experience.
- As a sign of the school’s appreciation, there are fantastic incentives available for students who complete the GQ!
- It is a sign of professionalism and helps inform medical education at the local and national level.
FAQs
Where can I learn more about the GQ?
The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) administers the survey.
Is the GQ confidential?
Yes, the GQ is a confidential survey.
How is the GQ different from S3 and other surveys I’ve taken?
The Strategic Student Survey (S3) is an IU School of Medicine-administered survey focused specifically on student experiences during fourth year. We are required to gather data through the S3 as part of LCME reaccreditation.
The GQ is a different survey administered by AAMC to all fourth-year medical students in the United States. It looks at all four years of medical school and allows the school to compare its results to national benchmarks from other schools across the country. The GQ is also important for our LCME accreditation status.
Why do I need to take both GQ and S3?
Both are vital to measuring student satisfaction and assessing your educational experience.
- The GQ lets us compare ourselves to other medical schools nationally.
We might see that 85 percent of students are satisfied with a specific element of medical education and be inclined to think we’re doing well. But nationally, that might only put us in the lower quartile of all medical schools. The GQ gives us context and helps us identify areas that need work and if recent changes at IUSM are effective.
- The S3 enables us to gather real-time feedback from each year of medical school.
Each class year takes a unique Strategic Student Survey (S3) that asks about experiences for the current academic year. The highly tailored format provides two advantages:- We can be nimble and make changes to specific phases of medical education without having to wait for the results of GQ at the end of a four-year experience.
- We can measure the impact of any changes we implement by comparing results year-over-year.
What are some terms I should know?
Because each medical school is unique, there is some terminology that can be confusing. At IU School of Medicine, we truly believe that it “takes a village” to deliver an excellent medical school experience. We work as a statewide team to accomplish that. Here is a short guide to help you:
GQ Question: Indicate your level of satisfaction with the Office of the Dean of Students/Associate Dean for Students.
Guidance: This question is in reference to the Student Affairs Dean, Emily Walvoord, MD, and her extensive team that includes academic advising and the Lead Advisors, career mentoring, and numerous individuals at each regional campus that contribute to supporting our students such as regional campus deans and their team of support staff.
GQ Question: Indicate your level of satisfaction with the Office of the Dean for Educational Programs/Curricular Affairs.
Guidance: This question is referring to the large number of individuals who help direct the curriculum., including Paul Ko, MD, the Associate Dean for Curriculum and the entire team in Phase 1 (Charles Rudick, PhD, Maureen Harrington PhD, Margaret Bauer PhD, Jessica Byram, Ph.D., Helen Shere, MAT) Phase 2 (Jennifer Schwartz, MD, Laura Hinkle, MD, Neelum Safdar, MT, MEd, and Alecia Craig, MBA) and Phase 3 (Megan Christman, DO, FACOG, Stephanie Freed, MS, Alecia Craig, MBA, and Laura Hinkle, MD).
It also includes the many statewide and regional campus deans and faculty in the design, adjustments, and implementation of the curriculum. This includes the statewide course management teams that deliver the basic science courses, clinical clerkships, sub-Internships and electives at each campus location.