A Novel, Combined Student and Preceptor Professional Development Session for Optimizing Feedback: Protocol for a Multimethod, Multisite, and Multiyear Intervention

Background: Providing feedback to medical learners is a critical educational activity. Despite the recognition of its importance, most research has focused on training preceptors to give feedback, which neglects the role of learners in receiving feedback. Delivering a combined professional development session for both preceptors and students may facilitate more effective feedback communication and improve both the quality and quantity of feedback. Objective: The objective of our research project is to examine the impact of a relational feedback intervention on both preceptors and students during a longitudinal integrated clerkship. Methods: Students and preceptors will attend a 2.5-hour combined professional development session, wherein they will be provided with educational tools for giving and receiving feedback within a coaching relationship and practice feedback giving and receiving skills together. Before the combined professional development session, students will be asked to participate in a 1-hour preparation session that will provide an orientation on their role in receiving feedback and their participation in the combined professional development session. Students and preceptors will be asked to complete a precombined professional development session survey and an immediate postcombined professional development session survey. Preceptors will be asked to complete a follow-up assessment survey, and students will be asked to participate in a follow-up, student-only focus group. Anonymized clinical faculty teaching evaluations and longitudinal integrated clerkship program evaluations will also be used to assess the impact of the intervention. Results: As of March 1, 2022, a total of 66 preceptors and 29 students have completed the baseline and follow-up measures. Data collection is expected to conclude in December 2023. Conclusions: Our study is designed to contribute to the literature on the feedback process between preceptors and students within a clinical setting. Including both the preceptors and the students in the same session will improve on the work that has already been conducted in this area, as the students and preceptors can further develop their relationships and coconstruct feedback conversations. We will use social learning theory to interpret the results of our study, which will help us explain the results and potentially make the work generalizable to other fields. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/32