Preceptor development: providing effective feedback

Feedback plays a significant role in precepting and is indispensable in residency training. As described by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the goal of any postgraduate residency program is to prepare individual trainees to function as qualified practitioners. Although feedback and evaluations have traditionally been synonymous, our goal is to differentiate the two and describe the role of each within resident performance. The goal of this article is to provide preceptors with the tools to provide timely, effective, and quality feedback to residents on a regular basis. Although the focus of this article is on residency training, these concepts can be utilized in student rotations as well.