Professional Development

Feedback

• Written Evaluations - Below are some helpful tips to making your student evaluations more accurate, meaningful and actionable:
  • 1. Make sure you arrange for time to observe the student and take notes to help you write the evaluation later. You can ask the student to present a patient, present research they completed about a case, perform part of the physical examination for you etc.
  • 2. Instead of writing "I didn’t work with the student long enough to give good feedback," please try to provide any observations you have, even if brief. Your insights are valuable.
  • 3. Ensure your evaluation is consistent. If you note that a student needed prompting in activities, avoid stating in comments that "the student did not need prompting with any clinical skills."
  • 4. If you feel you cannot adequately evaluate a student, it is okay to refrain from completing an evaluation. We will follow up for your feedback if needed.
  • 5. Use balanced language in narratives. Instead of "always" or "never," consider terms like "required some," "minimal," or "occasional" prompting.
  • 6. Remember, competencies are based on 3rd and 4th-year students. Rating a student in the highest categories indicates they are functioning at the level of a 4th-year student ready to be an intern.
  • 7. Avoid giving uniform scores (e.g., 70, 85, or 100) across all areas. Students typically excel in some areas and may need improvement in others. Please read the prompts describing student behavior carefully and be sure to record your observations appropriately.

  Thank you for your careful and thoughtful evaluations.

  Oral Feedback to students

  Make sure you arrange time with each student you work with to give 1:1 feedback. This should be brief lasting 5-10 minutes. Tell the student “I am giving you feedback.” Focus on only 1-2 points. Ask the student what they did well. Tell them your observations. Ask them what they feel they could improve on and tell them your observations. Work with them to develop strategies to improve. Use this website to point them to concrete sources for their continued development.

  [Insert Feedback WINS form] - Use this guide to record your observations of student performance and the accompanying script to discuss your feedback with students.

  Education CME modules through ACE – Alliance for Clinical Educators (ACE) is a multidisciplinary group formed to enhance clinical instruction of medical students. The following link contains a clinical faculty development series containing multiple lectures to develop clinical educators.

  Neurology Education Journal – An AAN publication focusing on research within the field of neuroscience education.