Authors:
- Dr Rachel Holmes, CT4 ACCS Anaesthetics, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust
- Dr Suzanne Taylor, Consultant Anaesthetist, Mid-Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
- Dr Susannah Thoms, Consultant Anaesthetist, Mid-Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust
Society for Education in Anaesthesia UK (SEAUK)
The 2021 RCoA curriculum states that ‘access to high-quality, supportive and constructive feedback is essential for the professional development of the anaesthetist in training’.1 So, what do we mean by feedback, and what do we want this feedback to achieve?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines feedback as: ‘advice, criticism or information about how good or useful something or somebody’s work is’, only this is just half of the story. Another definition, relevant to us as trainers and learners, would be: ‘the information sent to an entity about its prior behaviour so that the entity may adjust its current and future behaviour to achieve the desired results’.2 In the context of anaesthesia training, information is provided on the gap between a learner’s performance and a standard set by the RCoA, with suggestions on how the gap might be bridged. Self-reflection on any feedback is a vital ingredient to consolidating the learning achieved.