Beyond Surveys: Unveiling the Impact of Focus Group Interviews in Medical Education Evaluation

Aim: To explore the role of focus group interviews as a qualitative tool in undergraduate medical education program evaluation, highlighting their capacity to capture complex and nuanced stakeholder experiences beyond traditional evaluation methods.Materials and Methods: Documents related to program evaluation activities conducted between 2021 and 2024 at Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine were analyzed. The data sources included program evaluation committee reports and transcripts of focus group interviews conducted with medical students from various year levels (Years I–VI) and faculty members. A retrospective qualitative document analysis was carried out using a contextual qualitative analysis framework. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key themes emerging from the focus groups, which were then compared with the findings from official evaluation reports.Results: Across three academic years, a total of 18 focus group interviews were conducted, involving 112 participants (84 students and 28 faculty members). Four key themes emerged from the focus group İNTERVİEWS: (1) misalignment between theoretical and clinical training, (2) role ambiguity among educators, (3) infrastructure and resource deficiencies, and (4) excessive faculty workload. Students emphasized the need for structured orientation programs and improved faculty-student interaction. Faculty members noted difficulties related to unclear role expectations, low motivation, and lack of curricular standardization. Compared to standard evaluation reports, focus group data provided richer insights into motivational barriers, environmental limitations, and institutional challenges.Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that focus group interviews significantly enhance traditional program evaluation methods by offering a deeper understanding of the educational experience. Systematic integration of such interviews into evaluation processes may lead to a more comprehensive understanding of student and faculty perspectives and support more effective curriculum reforms. Future research should explore the long-term impact of this approach on educational planning, quality improvement, and institutional decision-making.