Events

Research Voices from the Field is a new feature that showcases cutting-edge research that breaks barriers and promotes inclusion in medicine. Each edition spotlights a research publication and includes insights directly from the authors—revealing their motivations, the significance of their findings, and why the research matters for healthcare professionals everywhere.

In this second edition, Katherine Wisener, Associate Director, Faculty Development, reflects on why she co-authored “Upward Feedback: Exploring Learner Perspectives on Giving Feedback to their Teachers” and how it can be relevant to educators in medicine.

Katherine Wisener, Associate Director, Faculty Development, reflects on why she co-authored “Upward Feedback: Exploring Learner Perspectives on Giving Feedback to their Teachers” and how it can be relevant to educators in medicine.

I have been involved in faculty development for over 10 years, and during that time have become particularly interested in better understanding the motivations of our teaching faculty. Our health professions education programs thrive because of our dedicated teachers, and at the same time, recruitment and retention of faculty to teach in some contexts is a persistent challenge—not just here in British Columbia, but also nationally and internationally. When I started asking faculty about what kept them engaged in their teaching roles, they shared that feedback from learners was particularly motivating. On the other side of this same coin, they shared that oftentimes, the feedback they received from learners was brief, vague, and lacklustre. In this article, we spoke to medical students about their approaches and challenges in providing feedback to their teachers (known as “upward feedback”). While I knew going into this project that power dynamics would make the provision of constructive upward feedback challenging, the extent to which power dynamics were pervasive in influencing learners’ approaches in general was surprising. For example, learners hesitate to offer even positive feedback to their teachers for fear of being perceived as sentimental, which they feel could pose risks to their assessments/grades. This paper is a valuable read so we can better understand the many ways in which learners struggle to give feedback to their educators and better support upward feedback processes—for the sake of both our learners and teachers.

Upward Feedback: Exploring Learner Perspectives on Giving Feedback to their Teachers

Authors: Katherine Wisener, Kimberlee Hart, Erik Driessen, Cary Cuncic, Kiran Veerapen, and Kevin Eva

Abstract

Feedback from learners is known to be an important motivator for medical teachers, but it can be de-motivating if delivered poorly, leaving teachers frustrated and uncertain. Research has identified challenges learners face in providing upward feedback, but has not explored how challenges influence learners’ goals and approaches to giving feedback. This study explored learner perspectives on providing feedback to teachers to advance understanding of how to optimize upward feedback quality.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 learners from the MD program at the University of British Columbia. Applying an interpretive description methodology, interviews continued until data sufficiency was achieved. Iterative analysis accounted for general trends across seniority, site of training, age and gender as well as individual variations.

Learners articulated well-intentioned goals in relation to upward feedback (e.g., to encourage effective teaching practices). However, conflicting priorities such as protecting one’s image created tensions leading to feedback that was discordant with teaching quality. Several factors, including the number of feedback requests learners face and whether learners think their feedback is meaningful mediated the extent to which upward feedback goals or competing goals were enacted.

Our findings offer a nuanced understanding of the complexities that influence learners’ approaches to upward feedback when challenges arise. In particular, goal conflicts make it difficult for learners to contribute to teacher support through upward feedback. Efforts to encourage the quality of upward feedback should begin with reducing competition between goals by addressing factors that mediate goal prioritization.

Have you’ve published or come across valuable research on the praxis of REDI in medicine? Share it today.

We especially welcome submissions of research articles that explore equity, diversity, inclusion, justice, decolonization, Indigenization, or trauma-informed practices in medicine and healthcare.