Purpose <p>We describe and illustrate the use of rapid qualitative analysis (RQA), an alternative to the more time-consuming and costly thematic analysis, when analyzing comments from focus groups or interviews. RQA is well suited for gaining actionable insights to support rapid cycle quality improvement of educational programming. This introduction to the method provides program leadership and evaluators with a useful tool for gathering information from stakeholders to improve educational offerings.</p> Methods <p>The RQA approach is explained in six steps. Its use is illustrated in the context of a surgical education quality improvement project for a new bootcamp-style laparoscopic simulation curriculum.</p> Results <p>RQA generates a summary of critical feedback with a focus on actionable next steps. In this use case example, RQA results informed the iterative improvement of the surgical simulation curriculum for the upcoming academic year. Analysis was performed using commonly available resources at little to no cost to the research team.</p> Conclusions <p>RQA is a low-cost, efficient method of analyzing focus group and interview data that can be employed by surgical educators to make decisions on condensed timelines.</p>