WORKING

P A P E R

Use of outcome metrics

to measure quality
in education and
training of healthcare
professionals
A scoping review of
international experiences
ELLEN NOLTE, CAROLINE VIOLA FRY,
ELEANOR WINPENNY, LAURA BRERETON

WR-883-DH
February 2011
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Prepared for the Department of Health within the PRP project An On-call
Facility for International Healthcare Comparisons

Preface

This document presents a rapid review of the published evidence on initiatives undertaken
at international and national levels that may inform the further development of the
proposed NHS outcomes framework for workforce planning, education and training in
England. The working paper is in two parts. Part 1 is designed as an exploratory review,
with a focus on the use of quality indicators to assess and monitor the delivery of
healthcare education and training in international settings. Part 2 examines the use of two
specific quality indicators to measure the quality of medical education in three countries.
Together, they suggest that efforts to systematically assess the quality of the delivery of
education and training of the healthcare workforce appear to be rarely addressed explicitly.
We identify areas where further work may provide useful additional insights into quality
measurement in healthcare education and training.
The paper was prepared as part of the project An On-call Facility for International
Healthcare Comparisons funded by the Department of Health in England through its
Policy Research Programme (grant no. 0510002). The project comprises a programme of
work on international healthcare comparisons that provides intelligence on new
developments in other countries, involving a network of experts in a range of countries in
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to inform health
(care) policy development in England. For more information on the project please visit
www.international-comparisons.org.uk.
RAND Europe is an independent not-for-profit policy research organisation that aims to
improve policy and decision-making in the public interest, through rigorous research and
analysis. RAND Europes clients include European governments, institutions, NGOs and
firms with a need for rigorous, independent, multidisciplinary analysis.
This report has been peer-reviewed in accordance with RANDs quality assurance
standards. For more information about RAND Europe or this report, please contact:
Ellen Nolte
RAND Europe
Westbrook Centre
Milton Road
Cambridge CB4 1YG
United Kingdom
Tel. +44 (1223) 353 329
enolte@rand.org

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