Relating Instructor Feedback and Student Reception in the Clinical Environment.

Area of Science:

• Radiologic Science Education
• Clinical Pedagogy
• Healthcare Professions Education

Background:

• Effective feedback is crucial for student learning and competency development in clinical environments.
• Understanding the factors influencing student receptivity to feedback is essential for optimizing educational outcomes.
• The relationship between instructor feedback characteristics and student receptivity requires further investigation within radiologic science programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the correlation between instructor feedback quality and delivery and student receptivity in a clinical radiologic science setting.
• To explore the influence of specific feedback attributes on students' willingness to accept and utilize feedback.
• To identify key variables that enhance the feedback exchange between clinical instructors and students.

Main Methods:

• A correlational study was conducted with 132 radiologic science students using an electronic survey.
• The survey included the Feedback Environment Scale (FES) and the Feedback Orientation Scale (FOS) to assess feedback perception and orientation.
• Statistical analyses, including Pearson correlation coefficients and regression analysis, were employed to examine relationships between variables.

Main Results:

• A significant positive relationship (r = .50, P = .01) was found between overall feedback environment and feedback orientation.
• Feedback quality (r = .51, P = .01) and feedback delivery (r = .25, P = .01) were significantly correlated with student feedback orientation.
• Self-efficacy was significantly correlated with the overall feedback environment (r = .50, P = .01).

Conclusions:

• Instructor feedback quality and delivery are critical components influencing student receptivity in clinical settings.
• Creating a supportive feedback environment where messages are perceived as consistent, relevant, specific, and altruistic enhances student receptivity.
• Training for clinical instructors should emphasize principles of effective feedback to improve the instructor-student relationship and foster competency development.