title: Feedback on students' clinical reasoning skills during fieldwork education.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Feedback on clinical reasoning skills during fieldwork education is regarded as vital in occupational therapy students' professional development. The nature of supervisors' feedback however, could be confirmative and/or corrective and corrective feedback could be with or without suggestions on how to improve. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of supervisors' feedback on final-year occupational therapy students' clinical reasoning skills through comparing the nature of feedback with the students' subsequent clinical reasoning ability.
  
  
  METHODS
  A mixed-method approach with a convergent parallel design was used combining the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. From focus groups and interviews with students, data were collected and analysed qualitatively to determine how the students experienced the feedback they received from their supervisors. By quantitatively comparing the final practical exam grades with the nature of the feedback, their fieldwork End-of-Term grades and average academic performance it became possible to merge the results for comparison and interpretation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Students' clinical reasoning skills seem to be improved through corrective feedback if accompanied by suggestions on how to improve, irrespective of their average academic performance. Supervisors were inclined to underrate high performing students and overrate lower performing students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students who obtained higher grades in the final practical examinations received more corrective feedback with suggestions on how to improve from their supervisors. Confirmative feedback alone may not be sufficient for improving the clinical reasoning skills of students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Health Care Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Beer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology/Occupational Therapy, Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mårtensson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016390:Allied Health Occupations / Q000193:education*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000193:education*; D010379:Peer Group; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013336:Students, Health Occupations / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: feedback; fieldwork education; mixed methodology research; physical dysfunction