Qualitative and quantitative feedback in the context of competency-based education

Abstract

Research indicates the importance and usefulness of feedback, yet with the shift of medical curricula toward competencies, feedback is not well understood in this context. This paper attempts to identify how feedback fits within a competency-based curriculum. After careful consideration of the literature, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) Because feedback is predicated on assessment, the assessment should be designed to optimize and prevent inaccuracies in feedback; (2) Giving qualitative feedback in the form of a conversation would lend credibility to the feedback, address emotional obstacles and create a context in which feedback is comfortable; (3) Quantitative feedback in the form of individualized data could fulfill the demand for more feedback, help students devise strategies on how to improve, allow students to compare themselves to their peers, recognizing that big data have limitations; and (4) Faculty development needs to incorporate and promote cultural and systems changes with regard to feedback. A better understanding of the role of feedback in competency-based education could result in more efficient learning for students.

Acknowledgements

Yvonne Steinert would like to acknowledge Drs. Beth-Ann Cummings and Robert Sternszus for their contributions to the section on faculty development and feedback. Together, they presented some of this content at the 16th International Ottawa Conference on Medical Education in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2014.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributors

Ara Tekian, PhD, MHPE, is Professor, Department of Medical Education, and Associate Dean for the Office of International Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, USA.

Chris Watling, MD, MMEd, PhD, FRCP(C), is Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.

Trudie Roberts, BSc (Hons) MBChB, PhD, FRCP, FHEA, is the Director of both the Leeds Institute of Medical Education and the Medical Education Unit in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, UK.

Yvonne Steinert, PhD, is the Director of the Centre for Medical Education and the Richard and Sylvia Cruess Chair in Medical Education at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

John Norcini, PhD, is President and CEO, Foundation of Advancement of International Medical Education and Research, Philadelphia, USA.