A Departmentally Developed Agreement to Improve Faculty-Resident Feedback

Feedback from faculty to residents is important for the development of the resident. Effective feedback between faculty and residents requires trust between the two parties. An agreement between faculty and residents was developed to determine whether it would improve resident satisfaction with feedback.

Groups of faculty and residents met to discuss expectations and barriers to feedback. Based on this information, the two groups developed a Feedback Agreement that was edited and approved by the entire Department of Anesthesiology. The Feedback Agreement was presented in meetings with the faculty and the residents. To assess satisfaction with feedback, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident survey was used, as it assesses resident satisfaction with various aspects of the program, and was compared before and after the agreement.

The satisfaction scores with feedback before the Feedback Agreement were statistically lower than scores for the specialty and for all residents in training programs. Satisfaction rose from 53% of 76 respondents (average score of 3.5 in 2020 to 2021) to 74% of 78 respondents being satisfied or extremely satisfied (average score of 4.0 in 2021 to 2022; P = .03). This score was not statistically different from residents in Anesthesiology programs or all residents in training programs.

The development of a Feedback Agreement improved resident satisfaction with faculty feedback as assessed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident survey.