The Delphi technique in curriculum development

Abstract

Abstract The faculty of a state supported medical school recently approved the addition of a 1‐month clerkship in ambulatory care to the fourth year of its MD curriculum. The committee designing the clerkship used the Delphi technique in obtaining a variety of opinions from a panel of experts to form a consensus regarding the new program's curriculum components. The three‐iteration technique was completed in 6 months and provided information that facilitated the development of a proposal for the design of the new clerkship. The proposal included the following: priority health issues to be addressed by the clerkship, necessary attributes of training sites and preceptors, instructional goals, recommended instructional approaches, methods for evaluation of student performance, and methods for program and site evaluation. This article describes the use of the Delphi technique in developing the consensus.