How physicians change: Multisource feedback driven intervention improves physician leadership and teamwork.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physician Professionalism
• Healthcare Leadership

Background:

• Multisource feedback (MSF) quantifies physician professionalism, communication, teamwork, and leadership.
• Educational interventions aim to enhance MSF measurements across physician specialties.
• Variations in MSF baseline scores and post-intervention improvements by specialty are explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if tiered educational interventions improve MSF measurements for physicians.
• To assess if MSF baseline scores and improvements differ by medical specialty.

Main Methods:

• 1,190 physicians from primary care, surgical, and other specialties participated in MSF assessments (PULSE 360 Survey).
• A leadership teamwork index was measured pre- and post-intervention.
• Three tiers of intervention (report only, debriefing only, debriefing and development) were applied based on baseline scores.

Main Results:

• Surgeons had lower baseline leadership teamwork index (59.9) compared to primary care (67.1) and specialists (65.9).
• Tier 3 intervention (debriefing and development) yielded the greatest improvement (36.6 to 56.3).
• Surgeons showed the largest mean increase in leadership teamwork index (9.1 points).

Conclusions:

• Physician MSF scores vary by specialty and improve with targeted interventions like feedback, coaching, and education.
• Physicians with initially low scores demonstrate the most significant potential for leadership and teamwork improvement.