Internal review as a means of maintaining quality education in a medical school.

In order to focus attention on education, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston adopted a system of internal review. The process was initially conducted for courses in the basic sciences by an ad hoc dean's committee consisting of representatives from the teaching faculty, administration, and student body as well as experts in medical education. As a consequence of the experience with the review of the basic science courses, the internal review process was applied to the clinical science courses and the elective programs at UTMB. The activities of the internal review process have resulted in improvements in instructional procedures and structural changes in the medical school's approach to educational planning, implementation, and evaluation.