A Structured Peer Assessment Method with Regular Reinforcement Promotes Longitudinal Self-Perceived Development of Medical Students’ Feedback Skills

• DOI: 10.1007/s40670-021-01242-w
• Publication Date: 2021-03-11T21:02:36Z
• Authors: Alice Tzeng; Bethany Bruno; Jessica Cooperrider; Perry B. Dinardo; Rachael Baird; Carol Swetlik; Brittany N. Golds...; Radhika Rastogi; Alicia J. Roth; Timothy D. Gilligan; Julie M. Rish
• Keywords: Constructive; Audio feedback; Video feedback

Given that training is integral to providing constructive peer feedback, we examined the impact of a regularly reinforced, structured peer assessment method on student-reported feedback abilities throughout a two-year preclinical Communication Skills course.Three consecutive 32-student medical school classes were introduced to the Observation-Reaction-Feedback method for providing verbal assessment during Year 1 Communication Skills orientation. In biweekly small-group sessions, students received worksheets reiterating the method and practiced giving verbal feedback to peers. Periodic questionnaires evaluated student perceptions of feedback delivery and the Observation-Reaction-Feedback method.Biweekly reinforcement of the Observation-Reaction-Feedback method encouraged its uptake, which correlated with reports of more constructive, specific feedback. Compared to non-users, students who used the method noted greater improvement in comfort with assessing peers in Year 1 and continued growth of feedback abilities in Year 2. Comfort with providing modifying feedback and verbal feedback increased over the two-year course, while comfort with providing reinforcing feedback and written feedback remained similarly high. Concurrently, student preference for feedback anonymity decreased.Regular reinforcement of a peer assessment framework can increase student usage of the method, which promotes the expansion of self-reported peer feedback skills over time. These findings support investigation of analogous strategies in other medical education settings.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01242-w.