Establishing a Research and Evaluation Capability for the Joint Medical Education and Training Campus

Abstract : Both the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission and the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review called for the transformation of medical education and training to foster interchangeability and interoperability among medical personnel and units across the services. The BRAC report recommended relocating basic and specialty enlisted medical training to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to take advantage of economies of scale and the opportunity for joint training. To fulfill the BRAC recommendation, a joint medical education and training campus (METC) is being established at Fort Sam Houston. The RAND Corporation was asked to provide technical and research assistance in several areas to facilitate implementation of joint medical training and education. One of the tasks was to examine the need for and feasibility of establishing a research and evaluation capability within METC akin to an office of institutional research (OIR) typically found in entities whose mission is training. This monograph documents the results of that task. It makes a case for establishing an OIR within METC based on two long-term goals for the campus: (1) becoming a high-performing learning organization and (2) seeking accreditation as a community college rather than becoming accredited under the umbrella of the Community College of the Air Force. Achieving either or both of these goals requires METC to adopt a clear model of organizational improvement with well-defined metrics for measuring its performance and using research and evaluation to assess and improve that performance.