Effective use of feedback.

Abstract

Editor’s Note: I welcome your comments about this feature, which is also published on the STFM Web site athttp://stfm.org. I also encourage all predoctoral directors to make copies of this feature and distribute it totheir preceptors (with the appropriate Family Medicine citation). Send your submissions to Paul Paulman,MD, University of Nebraska, Department of Family Medicine, 600 South 42nd Street, Box 983075,Omaha, NE 68198-3075. 402-559-6818. Fax: 402-559-6501. E-mail: ppaulman@mail.unmc.edu.Feedback is an essential skill forall teachers. For learners to growand improve their skills, they needto know what they’re doing well,and they need guidance on howthey can improve. While studentscan and must do self-assessmentand direct their own studies, theyalso need input from those withmore expertise than themselves. Itis our responsibility as clinicalteachers to provide this in the formof ongoing feedback.Feedback can be time-consuming.In the course of a busy day, it maybe tempting to let some things justgo by, rather than break the paceof patient care to give timely guid-ance and instruction. Unfortu-nately, this practice often resultsin repetition of errors and may takemore time in the long run.Many of us struggle with giv-ing feedback. The tradition inmedical education has emphasized