Enhancing the implementation of regular verbal feedback to residents through structured faculty training workshops

Background: We strongly believe that enhancing the quality of the internal medicine residency program at the Aga Khan University can have a significant impact on the quality of care provided to patients at our hospital and even at a national level. Our purpose of conducting this study was to strengthen the postgraduate program by improving the assessment and feedback system. Methods: Between November and December 2009 a satisfaction survey was administered to collect information from both the faculty and residents on the quality of the present feedback system. In an attempt to improve the quality of feedback provided to the residents, 5 faculty workshops were conducted between January and March, 2010. After the workshops, and following a one year implementation period, similar satisfaction surveys were administered again to faculty and residents. Results: Before the workshops, the number of times residents reported having gotten feedback in the previous 6 months of rotations had a Mean±SD value of 0.67±1.156. Following our interventions, the mean increased to 1.25±0.892. Interestingly, before our interventions, 33 residents (64.7 %) said they had never received feedback in the past 6 months, whereas that percentage reduced to 18.2 % following workshops. The number of times faculty reported giving feedback in the past 6 months increased from mean of 1.97±2.41 to 5.73±4.62. Conclusions: Our results show a significant improvement in implementation of regular verbal feedback over time following a series of faculty training workshops. Regular and timely feedback to residents can provide them with valuable guidance on how to improve and enhance their performance and learning. Key words: Feedback, residents, Verbal, assessmen