Oral versus written feedback in medical clinic.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether residents perceived oral, face-to-face feedback about their continuity clinic performance as better than a similar, written version.


METHODS
Single-blind, randomized controlled trial.


METHODS
Two university-based, internal medicine residency clinics.


METHODS
All 68 internal medicine and combined program (medicine-pediatrics, medicine-psychiatry, medicine-neurology, and preliminary year) residents and their clinic preceptors.


RESULTS
Residents at each program were separately randomized to oral or written feedback sessions with their clinic preceptors. The oral and written sessions followed similar, structured formats. Both groups were later sent questionnaires about aspects of the clinic. Sixty-five (96%) of the residents completed the questionnaire. Eight of the 19 questions dealt with aspects of feedback. A feedback scale was developed from the survey responses to those eight questions (alpha = .86). There were no significant differences in the responses to individual questions or in scale means (p > .20) between the two feedback groups. When each university was analyzed separately, one had a higher scale mean (3.10 vs 3.57, p = .047), but within each university, there were no differences between the oral and written feedback groups (p > .20).


CONCLUSIONS
No differences were observed between the oral and written feedback groups. In attempting to provide better feedback to their residents, medical educators may better apply their efforts to other aspects, such as the frequency of their feedback, rather than the form of its delivery.
Elnicki
D M
DM
Department of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506, USA.
Layne
R D
RD
Ogden
P E
PE
Morris
D K
DK
D002983:Clinical Competence; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D016037:Single-Blind Method