The need for faculty training programs in effective feedback provision.

Abstract

An important aspect of professional teaching practice is a practitioner’s ability to critically evaluate the performances of subordinates for whom he or she is responsible. This is a common practice within social sciences as well as for professionals from applied specialties. The literature on professional clinical expertise identifies reflective practice as perfect when they are thoroughly accepted by practitioners. In health-related professions, critical reflection in the form of feedback that serves as the bridge between theory and practice is endorsed. The aims and objectives of this study were directed toward the application of a mixed methodology approach in order to evaluate the requirements for a feedback training program and to detect the present feedback provision skills of clinical mentors in practice. The quantitative analysis measured the effectiveness of clinical teachers’ feedback in order to understand whether their understanding of and skills for giving feedback to promote students were adequate. On the other hand, the qualitative methods explored self-perceptions of feedback skills and efficacy in enabling students to improve their clinical practice. Effective feedback from faculty and the learner provides a useful and meaningful experience for absorbing knowledge and critical thinking into clinical practice. Nonadherence and limited expertise of mentors in giving feedback are the main themes of this study, and were evaluated and acknowledged through systematic analysis.