Role modelling feedback: Faculty in the hot seat

Feedback is an essential component of effective medical education and widely considered a fundamental driver of clinical skills development. However, most medical students have little experience in receiving and processing formative feedback, and many do not experience targeted feedback until they enter the high-stakes clerkship environment. Accepting and integrating feedback must be developed and practiced, yet traditional didactic approaches to teaching these skills have been poorly received. Therefore, we created an approach to model the reception and implementation of formative feedback, thereby encouraging learners to develop a growth mindset and the skills to transform feedback into actionable goals. The moderator then read the feedback to the course director, who modelled intellectual curiosity and humility while responding to both positive and negative comments. Importantly, the course director provided specific action plans for implementing changes to address negative feedback. The responses and plans were documented, and adherence to the action plan was monitored by the learners. The activity exposed learners to strategies for receiving feedback and implementing change. Having a senior faculty member model intellectual humility and responsiveness to formative feedback, in an authentic context, emphasized that feedback is necessary and relevant to individuals at all stages and that follow-through on improvement is an essential element to achieve success in medicine. After the course, 78% of learners (n = 50) agreed or strongly agreed that the session solidified their understanding and appreciation of feedback in medical education, and 77% agreed or strongly agreed that they would be more confident in receiving feedback. Several learners noted a desire to practice feedback with a peer. Many learners commented on the importance of authenticity in the course director's responses, suggesting that modelling responsiveness to real feedback may be an effective teaching strategy. One learner commented that ‘watching my professor field critical feedback with humility and action-oriented responses showed me how I can be a more effective learner in clerkships’. We will expand this approach to additional courses/content areas and evaluate its impact on the efficacy of receptive feedback in subsequent clinical clerkships. Dr. David W. Mullins conceived the approach, participated in the implementation and co-wrote the paper. Dr. Catherine Florio Pipas conceived the approach, participated in the implementation and co-wrote the paper. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. As an educational approach, the activity was declared IRB exempt. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.