Students
When is the AAMC Graduation Questionnaire (GQ) open?
The GQ opens each year on Valentine's Day, February 14, and remains open through the first week in June, give or take a few days.
I am a fourth-year medical student trying to access the GQ. How do I sign in?
On February 14 a unique link to the GQ will be sent from GQ@aamc.org to the email address that the AAMC has on file from your school's registrar. You do not need to sign in or have your AAMC ID -- all you need is the email from us containing your unique link. Each link is private and individualized, so do not ask another student for their link, and do not forward your link to anyone else. If you cannot find our email with your link (check your junk or spam folder first), send an email to GQ@aamc.org and we will get it to you.
Also, ensure that your school has made you eligible to take the GQ. You are eligible if you are graduating (or have recently graduated) with an MD degree from a U.S. medical school in the current academic year (July 1 to June 30).
I completed the GQ but I would like confirmation. What do I do?
At the end of the survey, choose to send a confirmation email to yourself after the survey is submitted. Your survey also ends with a printable Confirmation Page that you can print again any time before the survey close date. Use your GQ link to re-enter your survey, scroll through your saved responses, and press the "Submit" button at the end of the survey to call up the Confirmation Page. Re-entering and re-submitting your survey does not affect your GQ completion status, and you are free to change your responses before the survey close date.
How do I know my answers are confidential?
Student responses are stored in a database at the AAMC. The AAMC does not release any personally identified data to schools or other organizations. The GQ has been reviewed by the American Institutes for Research IRB to ensure that necessary safeguards for human subjects are present and will continue to exist.
Are students required to complete the GQ?
Participation in this survey is voluntary; students have the right not to answer any question or set of questions if they so choose and will not be penalized in any way.
If students have any questions about the Graduation Questionnaire or their rights as participants, they may contact the AAMC Office of Human Subjects Research Protection at humansubjects@aamc.org or 202-909-2071.
Medical School Administrators
How can school staff learn the current GQ response rate?
Starting late February, the AAMC will inform AAMC Student Surveys Contacts at each medical school of the current aggregate response rate for their school. Updates will be emailed weekly.
Where can school staff find their school GQ reports?
Authorized AAMC Student Surveys Contacts can access GQ and other AAMC Student Surveys reports via the "Annual Reports" section of the AAMC Medical School Profile System (MSPS).
How can my school improve its response and completion rate for the GQ?
- Have the dean and student leaders personally communicate the importance of the GQ and how the school uses GQ data
- Establish the completion of the GQ as a routine final-year activity and professional responsibility (but not as an official requirement for graduation)
- Designate a GQ completion week prior to graduation
- Offer creative incentives such as prize drawings for those who have completed the GQ (Note: to protect confidentiality, the AAMC does not inform school staff which students have or have not participated.)
- Offer group incentives for reaching a healthy response rate, e.g., administrative contribution to a graduation party or class-chosen charity
- Provide timely access to computers by designating computer lab time for the survey or by reserving computers solely for the survey in the medical library or other sites
- Use GQ promotional and reminder materials such as posters and class newsletters
The GQ in Canada
The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) operates the Graduation Questionnaire for MD graduates of Canadian medical schools. For questions regarding the Canadian Graduation Questionnaire, contact:
AFMC GQ Officer
The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
265 Carling Avenue, Suite 800
Ottawa, ON K1S 2E1
Tel: 613-730-0687
https://afmc.ca/data-and-analysis/afmc-graduation-questionnaire
For more information about the GQ for U.S medical school graduates, contact GQ@aamc.org.