Collaborative development of course feedback with students for Psyched Up. Put more in, get more out

Abstract

AimsTo develop a responsive and sustainable template for long-term course evaluation for PsychED UpTo obtain rich, meaningful and specific feedback across multiple domains which can be translated into course improvementsTo work collaboratively with students interested in medical education having previously participated in the courseTo empower current students with the knowledge that their input is valuableBackgroundPsychED Up is an innovative extra-curricular course for 3rd year medical students at King's College London delivered by psychiatry trainees, senior students and actors. It is in its second year of running and focuses on the hidden curriculum in medicine, exploration of holistic care and communication skills at the mind-body interface. Input from people with lived experience is used to shape teaching.MethodEmbedded evaluation in course development sessions thus engaging the entire faculty in evaluation processes at the start of the new term Decided evaluation focusFace-to-face discussionsSurvey for faculty to determine what specific feedback content would be most usefulFinalised the questionnaireCollaborative design and refinement of questions, confirmed sub-sections and scope of questionnaireResultRevised questionnaire: Included rationale at the startTailored questions so faculty have more useful responsesGreater quantity of prompted questionsSpecific questions for large group presentation, small group teaching, actors’ performances and students’ reflectionsThoughtful combination of quantitative ratings and open-space questionsReduced time between course sessions and obtainment of feedbackQuality and quantity of feedbackHigh response rates: 32/30 (2 duplicates) mid-term, 29/30 end-of-termHigh-quality filling of open-space feedback allowed consolidation of themes to improve the courseConclusionCo-designing the feedback form with previous students from the course and faculty brought focus to the questions. They were more specific and were organised into sub-sections for different domains. This led to responses that were relevant, enriched with depth and breadth and provided faculty with richer, more personalised responses. More detailed reflections in feedback were thought to be due to better student understanding of the rationale for questions, and knowledge that their input would help improve the course. We have set up a robust system for collecting long-term feedback for PsychED Up. We will continue to make iterative amendments, and supplement questionnaire feedback with focus groups.