Curated Collections for Educators: Five Key Papers about Receiving Feedback in Medical Education

Abstract

IntroductionFeedback is a complex, multi-component interaction that is essential for academic development and advancement. Successful feedback requires active involvement from both the giver and receiver. However, research and guidance on the subject mostly center on the role of the provider of feedback. But the receiver of feedback holds the true power in this interaction, choosing how to interpret the information and deciding whether or not to incorporate the feedback to instill behavioral change. In this article, the authors aim to summarize five key papers related to receiving feedback, in order to outline both relevant information for emerging clinician-educators and discern ways to use this information for faculty development.MethodsIn order to generate a list of key papers that describe the importance of receiving feedback, the authors conducted a consensus-building process informed by social media sources. Key articles on receiving feedback were aggregated through a literature search. This list was further augmented via an open call on Twitter for important papers regarding receiving feedback. Through these processes, a list of 43 papers was created on the topic of receiving feedback in medical education. After compiling this preliminary list, the authorship group engaged in a modified Delphi approach to build consensus on selecting papers that best described the process of receiving feedback.ResultsWe present the group’s five most highly rated papers on the topic of receiving feedback in medical education. These papers were deemed essential and have also been summarized based on their relevance to junior faculty members and faculty developers.ConclusionWhile giving and receiving feedback are both vital for growth and development, much of the research focuses solely on giving feedback. However, receiving feedback is equally, if not more, important for instilling change in the learner. We explore the power of receiving feedback in medical education through five key papers that analyze the subject. We believe these papers can serve as great learning resources for both junior faculty members and faculty developers. They can assist the junior faculty to cultivate the ability to receive feedback and also serve as resources to aid senior faculty in building faculty-development sessions.

Strategies for the assessment of competences during rheumatology training across Europe: results of a qualitative study

“…Indeed, giving feedback is a skilled educational task, particularly when related to attitudes and professionalism. 13 Many trainers and trainees described how they valued or would welcome opportunities to develop their skills in a constructive and consistent approach, where feedback received regularly and in a positive manner could help catalyse changes in performance and motivation.…”

Curated collection for clinician educators: Six key papers on residency recruitment

“…Descriptive statistics were calculated using Google Sheets. The same methodology has been utilized in previous editions of the Curated Collections for Educators series 6‐11 …”

“…The same methodology has been utilized in previous editions of the Curated Collections for Educators series. [6][7][8][9][10][11]…”

Feedback in Medical Education: An Evidence-based Guide to Best Practices from the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine

“…62, 89,96,100,182,183,[185][186][187] Learners often approach feedback situations as a performance, probing the situation to see what is expected of them and then acting in a way to better shape their reputation and evaluations. 1,13,16,184,188 Those who have blind spots regarding their weaknesses may be resistant to feedback that challenges their existing self-perception. 130,[185][186][187][188][189][190][191] Failure to internalize feedback happens when a mismatch in external and internally generated assessment occurs.…”