Consistency in dental clinical feedback to students: clinical teachers’ perspectives

Author(s):  
Judith Werner ◽  
Graham Hendry

Purpose: In dental education, feedback from clinical teachers is critical for developing students’ clinical competence. However, students have identified inconsistency of clinical feedback from clinical teachers as a major area of concern. Compared to research on the student perspective of consistency in clinical feedback, dental clinical teachers’ own views of the consistency of their feedback is not as thoroughly researched. The purpose of this study is to redress that balance.Methodology: This qualitative study explored dental clinical teachers’ views of the clinical feedback process during the 2017 academic year, with a focus on their perceptions of consistency of their own feedback.Findings: Our results show that clinical teachers use a number of parameters in judging students’ performance and giving feedback, and were aware that their feedback may not be consistent with other clinical teachers’ feedback. Teachers also recognised that this inconsistency could lead to an adverse effect on students’ learning and clinical competence. Research implications: To improve the consistency of their feedback and calibrate their judgement of students’ performance, clinical teachers recommended that their Dental School should provide opportunities for them to engage in collegial discussion and interactive, case-based teaching development programs. They also believed clinical teaching and its significance to dental student learning and competence should be recognised and valued more highly by the School.Practical implications: Implementation of professional development initiatives endorsed by clinical teachers has the potential to improve the consistency of teachers’ feedback and the quality of clinical dental education, and ultimately the quality of oral health care.Originality: This is the first study to explore clinical teachers’ views of how they judge students’ performance and the consistency of their feedback.Limitations: A limitation of this study is that clinical teachers who volunteered to participate may have different opinions compared to teachers who did not participate.

2020 ◽  
pp. emermed-2019-208908
Author(s):  
Chung-Hsien Chaou ◽  
Shiuan-Ruey Yu ◽  
Roy Yi Ling Ngerng ◽  
Lynn Valerie Monrouxe ◽  
Li-Chun Chang ◽  
...  

BackgroundFeedback is an effective pedagogical tool in clinical teaching and learning, but the actual perception by learners of clinical feedback is often described as unsatisfactory. Unlike assessment feedback or teaching sessions, which often happen within protected time and space, clinical feedback is influenced by numerous clinical factors. Little is known about clinical teachers’ motivations to provide feedback in busy clinical settings. We aimed to investigate the motivations behind feedback being given in emergency departments (EDs).MethodsA qualitative analysis of semi-structured interview data was conducted between August 2015 and June 2016. Eighteen attending physicians were purposively sampled from three teaching hospital EDs in Taiwan. Data were thematically analysed, both inductively (from the data) and deductively (using self-determination theory (SDT)). Themes were mapped to the different motivation types identified by the SDT.Results and discussionDespite working in busy clinical settings, Taiwanese ED clinical teachers reported being motivated to provide feedback when they felt responsible for their learners, when they understood the importance of feedback (patient safety and partner building), or simply because they were committed to following a tradition of passing on their clinical knowledge to their juniors. Suggestions to facilitate the internalisation of external motivations are proposed.ConclusionsIn this qualitative study, motivations for clinical feedback were identified. Although the motivations are mostly extrinsic, the elicitation of internal motivation is possible once true satisfaction is fostered during the feedback-giving process. This understanding can be used to develop interventions to enable clinical feedback to be provided in a sustained manner.


2010 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.V. Ernstzen ◽  
E. Bitzer ◽  
K. Grimmer-Somers

Background: Clinical  education  forms  a  core  component of the training  of physiotherapy students.  Little research on the efficacy of commonly used  physiotherapy  clinical  learning  and  teaching  opportunities are available. Objective: This  paper  sought  to  identify  the  clinical  teaching  and  learning  opportunities  that  undergraduate  physiotherapy  students  and  clinical  teachers viewed as effective in enhancing learning, as well as the reasoning behind their views.Design: A qualitative research design was used.  Data was analyzed using content analysis.   Data was coded, cate gorized and conceptualized into key themes and patterns. Participants: All third year (n=40) and fourth year (n=40) physiotherapy students as well as their clinical teachers (n=37) were eligible to participate. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with a purposive sample consisting of six third-year students, six fourth-year students and six clinical teachers.  Results:  The  results  indicated  that  learning  is  best  facilitated  in  open,  relaxed  environments.Demonstrations  of patient management by teachers and students, discussion of patient cases, feedback and formative assessment were identified to be effective strategies to enhance development of clinical competence.  Conclusion: Clinical education, using focused and structured processes, could ensure that students are exposed to a range of learning opportunities for development of clinical competence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Nothman ◽  
Michael Kaffman ◽  
Rachel Nave ◽  
Moshe Y. Flugelman

Abstract Background Teaching medical students is a central part of being a doctor, and is essential for the training of the next generation of physicians and for maintaining the quality of medicine. Our research reviews the training that physicians in Israel receive as teachers of clinical clerkships, and their thoughts regarding teaching students. The importance of faculty development cannot be overstated, for securing quality medicine and physician empowerment. Methods This study was based on a survey conducted among physicians teaching at Israeli medical schools. The survey was conducted using an online questionnaire sent to clinical teachers according to lists received from the teaching units of the faculties, department heads, and other clinical teachers. Participation in the study was anonymous. Findings Of 433 invited physicians, 245 (56%) from three departments (internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology) of four faculties of medicine in Israel, out of five total, completed the questionnaire. Only 35% of the physicians reported having received training for their role as teachers, most of these participated in a short course of up to 2 days. There were significant differences between the Technion and the other schools. Technion teachers without academic appointment had higher rates of pedagogic training. The same was true in regard to Technion teachers, either residents or young specialist. Significant gaps were reported between the content covered in the training and the topics the doctors felt they would want to learn. The clinicians who participated in the survey expressed that clinical teaching was less valued and more poorly remunerated than research, and that improved compensation and perceived appreciation would likely improve the quality of clinical teaching. Conclusions Of the one-third of the physicians surveyed who had received some training in clinical teaching, the training was perceived as inadequate and not aligned with their needs. There was a significant difference in rates of pedagogic training between the Technion and other medical schools. In addition, most clinical teachers surveyed felt that teaching students is inadequately valued. Due to its focus on just three disciplines, and higher relative number participants from the Technion faculty of medicine, our survey may not fully represent the activities of the faculties of medicine in Israel. Nevertheless, given the importance of clinical teaching of medical students, our findings argue for increasing faculty development and educational training of physicians in clinical settings, for recognizing the importance of teaching in academic and professional promotion processes.


2021 ◽  
pp. e43
Author(s):  
Henrietta Poon ◽  
Mehtab Farhat Ahmad ◽  
Danielle Lowry ◽  
Habiba Saedon ◽  
Nicola A. Thompson ◽  
...  

Introduction: Most clinical teachers are not trained to teach, though they are critical to determining the quality of clinical learning environment. The General Medical Council, United Kingdom, recognises that being a good teacher is not innate, but that skills and attributes can usually be acquired. Clinical teaching is part of training of junior doctors in the United Kingdom, and from learners’ perspectives, junior doctors are effective clinical teachers, but there are few structured opportunities to learn how to teach during clinical training. The Associate Clinical Teaching Fellow (ACTF) program was developed to provide such structured platform for clinical trainees. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the quality of teaching by the trainees against the current-standard of clinical teaching in the first 2 years of its inception, and to adapt validated feedback questionnaires for practical use. Methods: A prospective longitudinal observational study was done over 2 years in a large 1,215 bed tertiary hospital. Multiple cross-sectional assessments of teachings by ACTFs and consultant teachers were done using two validated questionnaires, the Stanford Faculty Development Program-26 (SFDP-26) and the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness questionnaire (CTEQ), and an in-house global (IHG) feedback form prepared by third- and fifth-year students. Both trainees and consultants were unaware of the timing of the SFDP-26 and CTEQ feedbacks. A graphical representation of all responses was used to create a grading system for practical feedbacks. Results: A total of 507 of 765 (66%) of SFPD-26 and CTEQ and 224 of 286 (78%) of IHG questionnaires were returned for 26 trainees and 31 consultants by 266 medical students. There was a statistically significant higher ratings of trainees in seven of eight domains of SFDP-26, and the median (interquartile ranges [IQR]) overall score was 115 (105–126) and 108 (99–121) for trainees and consultants, respectively (P < 0.0001). Similarly, trainees were rated significantly higher in seven of nine CTEQ domains, and this was reflected in the overall score. The patterns were similar for third- and fifth-year students, and the type of learning exposure did not make a difference. With these students, the overall teaching effectiveness correlated (Spearman Correlation Coefficient [SCC]) the most with enthusiastic and stimulating (SCC 0.711; P < 0.0001), establishes rapport (SCC 0.69; P < 0.0001) and is accessible (SCC 0.67; P < 0.0001) in CTEQ, and with learning climate (SCC 0.62; P < 0.0001), communication of goals (SCC 0.54; P < 0.0001) and evaluation (SCC 0.52; P < 0.0001) in SFDP-26. At the end of their rotations, 30% of both groups of students were neutral or disagreed that consultants were essential to their clinical programs compared to 15% (P = 0.001) and 11% (P < 0.0001) of third- and fifth-year students, respectively, felt about trainees. By applying a new grading system derived from the full database of responses, the trainees would be graded 1 and consultants 7 out of 10 possible grades. Conclusions: Teaching delivered by doctors in training within a formal teaching program is of good quality and well received by medical students. There is a need for an equivalent program for trainee clinical educationalists like the Integrated Academic Training scheme of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), UK, for trainee academics. More qualitative studies are needed to analyse some of the findings in this study.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathryne Palmer ◽  
Natassia Naccarato

AbstractBackground: The clinical practicum provides an opportunity for students to apply and integrate classroom theory and clinical practice and competence effectively. In a teaching hospital, it is the responsibility of all staff to participate in clinical teaching and every interaction with a student constitutes a learning experience. The clinical teaching characteristics that are important to students and facilitate learning are not clearly defined in radiation therapy practice.Objective: To determine and compare the perceptions of the most and the least important clinical teaching characteristics as identified by radiation therapy staff and students.Methods: A self-administered, online questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was developed using clinical teaching characteristics identified in the literature and from Knox and Mogan’s Nursing Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Inventory. Participants were asked to rate on a 4-point, Likert-type scale the importance of the teaching characteristics with 1 being ‘not at all important’ and 4 being ‘very important’. Of the 150 questionnaires distributed, 49 radiation therapists and 10 students responded to the survey, constituting a 39% response rate.Results: There was generally a greater agreement between staff and students in terms of rating the least important teaching characteristics, being in the categories of interpersonal relationships and personality traits. Staff ranked characteristics in the category of Clinical Competence as most important, whereas the most important clinical teaching characteristics for students were dispersed amongst all categories.Conclusion: Radiation therapy staff and students place great emphasis on the demonstration of clinical competence in the teaching–learning process; clinical teachers should be made aware of and develop these characteristics, which ultimately assist in the student’s success.


1987 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 249-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Edwards ◽  
Sue Baptiste

When clinicians are asked to supervise students in fieldwork placements, it is often assumed that they have the skills to instruct the student in clinical methods and accurately evaluate the student's clinical competence. Many therapists feel ill-equipped in this role. This paper describes the components of clinical competence and the characteristics of a good clinical teacher. Three methods of clinical teaching or evaluation (record review, case discussion and direct observation) will be discussed and their application to evaluation of student performance illustrated. Since clinical competence is multi-dimensional, no one tool will adequately evaluate the range of competencies required. Clinicians can be better prepared as clinical teachers if they possess a repertoire of approaches on which to draw for specific areas of clinical competence.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Varvara ◽  
Sara Bernardi ◽  
Serena Bianchi ◽  
Bruna Sinjari ◽  
Maurizio Piattelli

The COVID-19 pandemic literally stopped most human movement and activities as it initially spread, which included dental practices and dental education. This defined the need for significative changes in teaching and learning with the use of “e-learning” methods, also for traineeships. This study was designed to determine the undergraduate student perception of these new methods as part of their education. This involved 353 students attending the Dental School of the G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara, from the first to the sixth years. A questionnaire in Italian and was set-up using “Google Forms” and sent by email to the students. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: the first part included questions for general information, including age, sex and year of course; the second part had multiple choice questions related to their evaluation of the e-learning teaching, using a scale of opinion in the replies to each question (e.g., “scarce”, “fair”, “satisfying”, “very good” and “excellent”); and the third part included two open questions to indicate the strengths and limitations of these new teaching and learning approaches. The categorical variables in the first and second parts of the questionnaire were evaluated using Chi squared tests, setting significance at p < 0.05, while the comments were evaluated qualitatively. The student feedback showed significant appreciation (p < 0.05) of the new methods and the efforts that the lecturers put in to provide lectures of as high a quality as possible. However, a lack of practical training was significantly perceived as an important problem in the structure of their new curriculum (p < 0.05). COVID-19 has been an epic tragedy that has hit the human population not only in terms of health and healthcare, but also quality of life. This includes the quality of dental education within universities. However, the pandemic can be seen to also represent motivation to invest in the necessary technological innovation to deliver the best possible education to our future dentists.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolan Li ◽  
Yanbo Shan ◽  
Yangjingwen Liu ◽  
Yingwen Lin ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The National Dental Undergraduate Clinical Skills Competition known as the Guanghua Cup was held in Guangzhou, China, for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019 to promote the clinical teaching of undergraduate dental education and to enhance communication among different universities. The present study aimed to introduce the organization, procedures, and consequences of the competition, in addition to analyzing the influences of competition on the reform of undergraduate dental education. Methods By analyzing the descriptive statistics of the Guanghua Cup, the competitions’ organization, the participating students’ performances, and the outcomes of competitions were analyzed. After distributing questionnaires to all participants of the 2nd and 3rd Cups, their attitudes towards the competition and their evaluation of the role of the competitions in promoting undergraduate dental education were analyzed. Results A total of 24 schools participated in the 3 competition years. The contents of the competitions covered cariology, endodontics, periodontology, prosthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, dental anatomy, and first aid (e.g., operative skills and theoretical knowledge). Compared with those of the 2nd Cup, the mean scores of the operative skills significantly improved in the stations related to periodontology, prosthodontics, and dental anatomy (p < 0.05) in the 3rd Cup. In addition, 338 valid questionnaires were collected, for a response rate of 87.79 %. Overall, the participants spoke highly of the Guanghua Cup. Based on their self-perception and self-evaluation, the majority of interviewees agreed that the competition helped develop collegiality and teamwork among the participating students, improved the students’ clinical skills and promoted the improvement of teaching resources (e.g., purchasing and updating equipment, models or experimental materials). Conclusions The competition enjoyed the widest coverage since it involved dental schools from all of the different geographical regions of China. Dental students could exhibit their clinical skills in a competitive environment and develop collegiality and teamwork. Future competitions should be optimized through their organization and contents. The education quality of the participating schools affected by such competition should be investigated in a more objective and comparable way.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pritesh Mistry ◽  
James Bateman ◽  
Helen Foss ◽  
Muhamad Jasim

Abstract Background/Aims  Medical students need to gain patient contact to develop their skills in history taking and examinations. In year three, undergraduate students typically rotate across various hospitals and specialties and are expected to have dedicated rheumatology exposure for history and examination competencies. Rheumatology as an out-patient specialty can limit opportunities for medical students to have broad exposure to rheumatological conditions. Methods  In January 2018, we designed an annual rheumatology half-day teaching workshop (‘Rheumatology Carousel’) using a combination of lecture-based teaching and small group based guided clinical history and examination stations, aimed at third-year medical students from the University of Birmingham. This covered key presentations in rheumatology: axial spondyloarthropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis (connective tissue disease), osteoarthritis, and vasculitis. Each station required a Clinical Teaching Fellow or Rheumatology ST trainee, overseen by one consultant facilitator. We designed patient proforma’s incorporating consent, demographics, key clinical history, therapy, and examination findings. We produced a written patient guide, and consultants invited appropriate patients to volunteer for the day. We designed a one-hour lecture-based tutorial. A lesson plan and schedule were created outlining faculty requirements; including time, roles, and faculty numbers. We invited five to six patients to each session, with a plan of four to five focussed examinations. We designed the carousel to accommodate up to 40 students, split into two groups running over a day. Focussed examinations involved students in groups of four, with each student being a lead examiner in at least one station, each station lasting 20 minutes. Best practice examination techniques for each condition were assessed and emphasised. Following a debrief, we collected feedback from students, faculty, and patients (online and written feedback), using Likert scores for teaching content, and quality of the session delivery. Results  The carousel ran in February 2018, 19, and 20. The sessions were positively evaluated by students, faculty, and patients. In total, 93 students attended, 89/93 completed feedback. Satisfaction scores (mean; SD; range) were high (1-strongly disagree, 5-strongly agree) for content (4.8; 0.49, range 3-5) and quality of delivery (4.7; 0.54; 3-5). All patients who participated volunteered to return for future teaching sessions, with several patients attending all three years. Free text feedback indicated students valued structured exposure to core conditions and called for more sessions of this nature. Conclusion  This sustainable reproducible intervention ensures students have structured exposure to important rheumatological conditions. The methodology allows reproducible sessions that are positively evaluated despite rotating clinical teaching staff. We have made all our teaching materials, logistical plan, and scheduling tools available as open access resources under a Creative Commons license for free re-use and adaptation by any healthcare professional, via a web link. We plan to record an electronic version to distribute post the COVID-19 pandemic. Disclosure  P. Mistry: None. J. Bateman: None. H. Foss: None. M. Jasim: None.


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