39.02 Blind spots in the feedback process – exploring trainee and faculty perceptions

S. Scarlet1, A. Reiter1, J. Crowner1, M. O. Meyers1  1University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill,Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Introduction:  As surgical training continues to evolve with regard to operative experience and autonomy, the role of timely, high quality feedback has become increasingly important.  Our aim was to characterize trainee and faculty perceptions regarding feedback.     

Methods:  Complementary surveys to characterize trainee and faculty perception of feedback regarding procedural skills using a 5-point Likert scale were distributed to 79 surgical trainees and 70 faculty from a single institution. Statistical analysis was completed using chi-squared testing. 

Results: 35 trainees (17 women) and 26 faculty (8 women) completed the survey; overall response rate was 40.9%. 100% of trainees and faculty agreed/strongly agreed that feedback regarding technical skills is valuable.  However, 51% of residents were dissatisfied with feedback overall. 36% of trainees reported dissatisfaction with feedback on technical skills, while faculty perceived that 8% of trainees were dissatisfied with the feedback they received (p=0.01). 6% of trainees reported receiving feedback following a procedure always/most of the time, whereas 73% of faculty reported delivering feedback on technical skills always/most of the time (p<0.001). 100% of faculty reported delivering feedback when trainees utilized poor technique, but only 64% of residents felt they had received feedback for poor technique (p<0.001). Similarly, 80% of faculty reported giving feedback when residents demonstrated good technique, whereas only 21% of residents reported receiving feedback in this circumstance (p<0.001). 

Conclusion: While both residents and faculty agreed that feedback is valuable, a disconnect exists between perceptions regarding its timing, content, and delivery. Acknowledging differing perceptions of feedback is necessary in order to enhance the quality of the feedback process and cultivate a more optimal training environment. Further study is required to determine how to best reduce the significant differences we observed in perceptions of feedback held by residents and faculty.