Optimising feedback for early career professionals: a scoping review and new framework

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professional Development
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Feedback interventions significantly impact learning and performance, but their effectiveness varies widely.
• Optimizing feedback interventions is crucial, especially for early career professionals (ECPs) in demanding work environments.
• Existing research often uses generic models, lacking specific tailoring for ECPs' unique needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing literature on feedback interventions for ECPs.
• To develop an optimized framework for designing feedback interventions tailored to ECPs.
• To inform future research and practice in providing effective feedback to ECPs.

Main Methods:

• A scoping literature review was conducted across multiple databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, etc.).
• Studies published since 1990 focusing on feedback interventions in busy workplaces were included.
• Thematic synthesis of a subset of studies informed the development of a new feedback framework and modified theory.

Main Results:

• Eighty studies were included in the mapping stage, with a significant portion from hospital and school settings.
• Seventeen papers were selected for framework development, resulting in a framework with three main categories and 22 subcategories.
• Limited empirical research specifically targeting feedback for ECPs was identified, despite their unique needs.

Conclusions:

• A novel feedback framework is proposed to enhance the design of feedback interventions for ECPs.
• The study encourages a shift from generic feedback models to audience-specific, tailored approaches.
• Future research should focus on developing and testing feedback interventions specifically designed for ECPs.