Medical students' action plans are not specific

BACKGROUND: Action plans have been shown to be important in changing behaviour. In learners, action plans have been proposed as a mechanism by which feedback leads to an increase in expertise: feedback leads to action plans, which lead to changes in learning behaviours and finally to improvement. Little is known about the extent to which students are able to make specific actions plans that relate to the feedback they are given, however. We explored whether medical students created action plans after being given feedback, the quality of those plans and whether the action plans were related to the feedback given. METHODS: We collected data from a communication session for Year-1 medical students on the feedback they were given and the action plans they made for improvement. RESULTS: Most students (185/196, 94%) made one or more action plans, but only 31/196 (16%) made one or more action plans that were directly related to the feedback given to them. CONCLUSIONS: Although educators may include action planning in education, students are not making specific enough action plans to effect change. Future work should include support for students in making better-quality action plans. …students are not making specific enough action plans to effect change