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

Impact of Unsolicited Negative Feedback in Academic Settings

INTRODUCTION

Appropriate feedback is crucial for quality improvement, productivity, and growth. There is a scarcity of information on the effect of unsolicited negative feedback (USNF). Our current study aimed to investigate the impact of USNF on motivation, performance, and mental well-being.

METHODS

Data was collected on a 5-point Likert scale by a survey of 10 validated questions asking the impact of USNF around three themes: 1. "Mental Health," 2. "Motivation," and 3. "Performance." The rationale of the questions was to investigate the negative emotional state and its impact on confidence, motivation, and performance of similar activities after getting USNF. Additionally, it impacts the mental state of anger, sadness, and self-criticism.

RESULTS

A total of 38 participants completed the questionnaire. The agreement after USNF was 57.8% to develop harsh or critical self-talk, 76.3% for mood changes, 57.8% helps to learn, and 63% helps to fix things received on positive feedback. A total of 86.8% need time to reflect, 76.3% need time to process, 65.78% try to avoid USNF, 31.57% start to avoid people who give USNF, and 23.68% try to prove themselves to those who give USNF. The results showed a strong correlation between a person's need for time to process emotions and demand for space to process emotions and forecasting memories after the USNF.

CONCLUSION

The psychological implications of USNF can be profound, leading to long-term negative effects on mental health, motivation, and performance. Training individuals to deliver negative feedback in a more constructive and positive manner is essential to mitigate these detrimental consequences.

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

Within medical education, feedback is an invaluable tool to facilitate learning and growth throughout a physician's training and beyond. Despite the importance of feedback, variations in practice indicate the need for evidence-based guidelines to inform best practices. Additionally, time constraints, variable acuity, and workflow in the emergency department (ED) pose unique challenges to providing effective feedback. This paper outlines expert guidelines for feedback in the ED setting from members of the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine Best Practices Subcommittee, based on the best evidence available through a critical review of the literature. We provide guidance on the use of feedback in medical education, with a focus on instructor strategies for giving feedback and learner strategies for receiving feedback, and we offer suggestions for fostering a culture of feedback.

Part 5: Essentials of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship: evaluation of competence and proficiency using Milestones

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Pediatric Subspecialty Milestone Project competencies are used for Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) fellows. Milestones are longitudinal markers that range from novice to expert (levels 1-5). There is no standard approach to the required biannual evaluation of fellows by fellowship programs, resulting in significant variability among programs regarding procedural experience and exposure to pathology during clinical training. In this paper, we discuss the opportunities that Milestones provide, potential strategies to address challenges, and future directions.

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

OBJECTIVES

To gain insight into current methods and practices for the assessment of competences during rheumatology training, and to explore the underlying priorities and rationales for competence assessment.

METHODS

We used a qualitative approach through online focus groups (FGs) of rheumatology trainers and trainees, separately. The study included five countries-Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom. A summary of current practices of assessment of competences was developed, modified and validated by the FGs based on an independent response to a questionnaire. A prioritising method (9 Diamond technique) was then used to identify and justify key assessment priorities.

RESULTS

Overall, 26 participants (12 trainers, 14 trainees) participated in nine online FGs (2 per country, Slovenia 1 joint), totalling 12 hours of online discussion. Strong nationally (the Netherlands, UK) or institutionally (Spain, Slovenia, Denmark) standardised approaches were described. Most groups identified providing frequent formative feedback to trainees for developmental purposes as the highest priority. Most discussions identified a need for improvement, particularly in developing streamlined approaches to portfolios that remain close to clinical practice, protecting time for quality observation and feedback, and adopting systematic approaches to incorporating teamwork and professionalism into assessment systems.

CONCLUSION

This paper presents a clearer picture of the current practice on the assessment of competences in rheumatology in five European countries and the underlying rationale of trainers' and trainees' priorities. This work will inform EULAR Points-to-Consider for the assessment of competences in rheumatology training across Europe.

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

INTRODUCTION

All emergency medicine (EM) residency programs must recruit new medical school graduates each year. The process is often overwhelming, with each program receiving far more applicants than available positions. We searched for evidence-based best practices to guide residency programs in screening, interviewing, and ranking applicants to ensure a high-performing and diverse residency class.

METHODS

A literature search was conducted on the topic of residency recruitment, utilizing a call on social media as well as multiple databases. After identifying relevant articles, we performed a modified Delphi process in three rounds, utilizing junior educators as well as more senior faculty.

RESULTS

We identified 51 relevant articles on the topic of residency recruitment. The Delphi process yielded six articles that were deemed most highly relevant over the three rounds. Transparency with selection criteria, holistic application review, standardized letters of evaluation, and blinding applicant files for interviewers were among noted best practices.

CONCLUSIONS

Well-supported evidence-based practices exist for residency recruitment, and programs may benefit from understanding which common recruitment practices offer the most value. The articles discussed here provide a foundation for faculty looking to improve their program's recruiting practices.