Facilitating the Feedback Process on a Clinical Clerkship Using a Smartphone Application

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Professions Education
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Traditional feedback methods in medical education often lack efficiency and timeliness.
• Student and supervisor engagement with feedback processes can be suboptimal.
• Exploring technology-enhanced feedback delivery is crucial for improving educational outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a smartphone-triggered feedback system on student perceptions.
• To assess the effectiveness of mobile technology in enhancing feedback delivery frequency and quality.
• To compare student experiences with a new digital feedback method versus traditional approaches.

Main Methods:

• Implemented an interactive electronic feedback form via a smartphone application for students.
• Collected student evaluations on various aspects of the feedback process.
• Utilized data from the previous academic year as a control group for comparison.

Main Results:

• Oral feedback increased from 65% to 97%, and written feedback from 40% to 92% post-implementation (p < 0.01).
• 91% reported ease of access, 94% timeliness, and 75% perceived good to excellent quality.
• 64% felt the app improved performance, and 69% preferred it over other methods, though the drop-down menu limited conversation scope.

Conclusions:

• Smartphone-triggered feedback delivery is an effective method for prompting supervisors to provide timely feedback.
• The digital approach enhances student access, timeliness, and overall perception of feedback.
• Further refinement may be needed to optimize conversational aspects of digital feedback tools.