Developing a Comprehensive Quality Model in Higher Education: Medical Employers’ Perspective

In higher education, quality management has been introduced to regulate the overall performance of institutions. In Saudi Arabia, less than 50% of employers believe that educational systems succeed in preparing students for the marketplace (Collet, Hine, & Plessis, 2015; Damoah, Peprah, & Brefo, 2021; Gallagher, 2015). This lack of preparedness may have resulted in poor employment rates, particularly among medical graduates. In order to reduce unemployment among medical graduates, employers need to be involved in developing a holistic understanding of these issues and a subsequent quality model of medical education that is relevant to the labor market so that it closes the gap between higher education and the medical labor market. The aim of this study is to gain insights into how medical employers conceptualize quality in higher education. The objective is to develop a model of the quality of medical education at Saudi universities from the perspective of employers. The resulting model will take account of both the attributes of medical graduates and the universities themselves. The study utilizes an exploratory two-stage design: semi-structured interviews followed by a survey. Interviews were carried out with 14 employers from six hospitals. The survey sample size is 251 respondents. The resulting quality model consists of seven dimensions, namely: 1) Educational Experience, 2) Medical Training, 3) Scientific Research, 4) University Reputation, 5) Pedagogic Quality, 6) Administrative Quality and 7) Graduate Quality. Additionally, the findings show that employers value eight soft skills in medical graduates: commitment to work, communication, decision making, continuous learning, confidence, ability to work under pressure, time management, and self-improvement skills. This model will create enhancement opportunities for medical education to overcome the deficiencies that lead to less competent graduates and it has the potential to enhance the higher education system.