Multisource Feedback and Narrative Comments: Polarity, Specificity, Actionability, and CanMEDS Roles.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physician Performance Assessment

Background:

• Multisource feedback (MSF) is a key tool for assessing physician workplace behaviors.
• The utility of MSF narrative comments may be limited by unoptimized question wording.
• This study investigates how different question phrasings affect MSF comment quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the impact of two distinct question sets on the characteristics of free-text comments in physician MSF.
• To determine which question phrasing yields more useful feedback for physician performance improvement.

Main Methods:

• Two sets of questions were administered to physicians and their colleagues/coworkers.
• Set 1 asked for one strength and one area for action; Set 2 asked for strengths and areas for enhancement.
• Free-text comments were analyzed for polarity, specificity, actionability, and CanMEDS roles.

Main Results:

• Set 1 generated more comments overall, which were more positive and actionable.
• Set 2 produced more highly specific comments.
• Comments addressed all CanMEDS roles, with a notable emphasis on collaborator and leader competencies.

Conclusions:

• Question wording in MSF significantly influences the volume, specificity, and actionability of narrative feedback.
• Optimizing question phrasing is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of MSF in supporting physician development.