April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Medical Students’ Orientation to Preceptor Feedback during Clinical Rotations: Self and Group Identity Influences
Feedback from preceptors is a primary mechanism by which medical students learn and improve their knowledge and clinical skills, particularly as they begin clinical rotations and engage in patient care for the first time. However, whether feedback is effective may depend on students’ attitudes towards feedback and willingness to receive feedback. To improve feedback in medical education, we examine whether students’ feedback orientation (i.e., sensitivity, retention, perceptions of utility, and preferences for confidentiality) changes over time and how factors such as impostor syndrome and group identification (i.e., students’ psychological connection with the medical profession) are associated with students’ orientation toward preceptor feedback. Ideally, students’ orientation to feedback improves over time, and they become more comfortable and willing to receive feedback. However, some students may remain sensitive to feedback and have negative attitudes toward it. Given that impostor syndrome and group identification affect students’ perceptions of their clinical skills, we also hypothesized that they will be associated with students’ feedback orientation: RQ1: Does orientation to instructor feedback change during the third year? H1: Impostor syndrome is negatively associated with orientation to instructor feedback. H2: Group identity is positively associated with orientation to instructor feedback. With institutional review board approval, we recruited third-year medical students to participate in a four-phase survey beginning at the start of clinical rotations and continuing every twelve weeks thereafter. 177 students completed Phase 1, 96 Phase 2, 107 Phase 3, and 138 Phase 4. A majority of the sample identified as male (53.0%) and Caucasian (70.1%). Students were compensated with Amazon gift cards at each phase. We used validated measures of instructor feedback orientation, impostor syndrome, and group identity. We conducted analyses using the mixed modeling function in SPSS, which provides flexibility in handling missing data for longitudinal analyses. Results indicate that feedback orientation does not significantly change during the third year (RQ1). Impostor syndrome is at least marginally, significantly associated with all aspects of feedback orientation across phases (utility, B = -.09, p = .06, 95% CIs [-.18, .004]; retention, B = -.47***, 95% CIs [-.60, -.34]; sensitivity, B = .56***, 95% CIs [.42, .70]; confidentiality, B = .28***, 95% CIs [.14, .43]; ***p <.001; H1). Group identity is associated with feedback utility (B = .25***, 95% CIs [.16, .35]) and retention across phases (B = .33***, 95% CIs [.19, .47]; H2). Hence, H1 and H2 are mostly supported. Findings suggests that feedback orientation remains stable and that individual (i.e., impostor syndrome) and group identity (i.e., group identification) factors are associated with feedback orientation over the course of the third year. Those who feel self-doubt maybe have poorer attitudes about feedback utility, remember less feedback they receive, and remain more sensitive to feedback. Identifying these students and providing tailored feedback opportunities may reshape perceptions of feedback utility and address barriers to learning and improving clinical skills. Programs that foster group cohesion through curricular activities and normalize constructive feedback as a part of medical education culture may influence how well students remember feedback and find it useful.