Feedback in surgical education

Introduction: The positive effect of feedback has long been recognized in surgical education. Surgical educators convey feedback to improve the performance of the surgical trainees. We aimed to review the scientific classification and application of feedback in surgical education, and to propose possible future directions for research.Methods: A literature search was performed using Pubmed, OVID, CINAHL, Web of science, EMBASE, ERIC database and Google Scholar. The following search terms were used: 'feedback', 'feedback in medical education', 'feedback in medical training' and 'feedback in surgery'. The search was limited to articles in English.Results: From 1157 citations, 12 books and 43 articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected for this review.Conclusion: Feedback comes in a variety of types and is an essential tool for learning and developing performance in surgical education. Different methods of feedback application are evolving and future work needs to concentrate on the value of each method as well as the role of new technologies in surgical education.