Giving feedback on clinical skills: are we starving our young?

Abstract

Background: Feedback to clinical learners about their performance is crucial to their development into competent clinicians. Most feedback is provided by clinicians who have little or no formal training for this aspect of their teaching role.

Method: Narrative review.

Findings: Feedback is most effective if provided by clinical mentors based on observations of behavior, with emphasis on correctable deficiencies. The difference between feedback, which is formative, and evaluation, which is summative, needs to be understood by both the giver and receiver. The ability to self-assess is an important related concept, with studies showing that self-assessment skills are lowest in individuals found to be the least competent in external assessments and in individuals with a high level of confidence.

Conclusions: Feedback is an important component in learners' development, and clinical faculty should be educated about the importance of providing feedback, and the means to do so effectively must be provided to them. Despite several decades of accumulated knowledge in this area, the evidence from learners is that we continue to starve them of this critical nutrient for their growth.