{"id":841496,"date":"2025-04-17T00:11:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T05:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/finding-feedback-how-to-know-how-youre-doing-in-med-school\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T00:11:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T05:11:52","slug":"finding-feedback-how-to-know-how-youre-doing-in-med-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/finding-feedback-how-to-know-how-youre-doing-in-med-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Feedback: How to Know How You\u2019re Doing in Med School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Business News <\/p>\n

\n

Between the academic demands in the classroom, the challenges of clinical training, and just trying to maintain your mental and physical health along the way, medical school doesn\u2019t always leave a lot of room for getting the kind of helpful feedback you need to feel confident about how you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

But going without feedback isn\u2019t ideal. Wondering if you\u2019re mastering the key knowledge and skills you need for success on the job can be an unnecessary distraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany have likened medical school to trying to drink water from a fire hose,\u201d said Ellen Pearlman, MD, senior associate dean for education at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University, North Haven, Connecticut. \u201cBecause of the sheer amount of material covered in a short time, it is important to have a good sense of how you are doing early on, so that you don\u2019t fall behind and get even more overwhelmed. Efficiency and effectiveness are at a premium.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Business
Ellen Pearlman, MD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A 2023 report<\/a> in BMC Medical Education<\/em> noted that feedback not only affects medical students\u2019 knowledge and beliefs about themselves, but it can also affect their behavior \u2014 specifically the way they approach their medical education and training.<\/p>\n

The researchers also found that when feedback is presented in a constructive and supportive manner, it can fuel more effective learning and higher achievement. When receiving feedback is a \u201chostile experience,\u201d the stress can negatively affect learning and may interfere with students\u2019 ability to reach their potential, the researchers concluded.<\/p>\n

But if you don\u2019t feel you\u2019re getting enough feedback or at least enough constructive feedback, what do you do? We talked with doctors and medical school administrators about some steps you can take to get a better sense of how you\u2019re progressing. You may have more avenues to get feedback than you realize.<\/p>\n

Business News Make the Most of a Mentor<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Many medical schools have a formal process for matching students with mentors or faculty members who can help guide students at the outset of their medical training.<\/p>\n

Like so many aspects of school, what you get out of your relationship with a mentor or other faculty member is up to you. It can be a rewarding and productive experience if you go into it with the mindset that this is one more way to learn and to prepare for your career.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur students are paired with a faculty member the first week of medical school as part of our collaborative learning group curriculum,\u201d said Shelley Wells Collins, MD, senior associate dean for educational affairs at the University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida. She said medical students often have more opportunities to find mentors on their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther faculty or resident mentors can be identified through specialty preferences, our medical student research program, and informal connections with faculty during clinical activities or because of exposure during lectures or other learning activities,\u201d Collins said. \u201cMost medical school faculty are very interested in providing mentorship for students.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Business
Shelley Wells Collins, MD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Collins recommends students have several mentors who can provide support and guidance at various times and for various reasons and to find people who will also be sponsors and put students in positions to help their career.<\/p>\n

Valerie Parkas, MD, an infectious disease specialist and senior associate dean of admissions and recruitment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, said students at Sinai have career advisors, well-being advisors, clinical mentors, and specialty advisors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical students in the preclinical and clinical curriculum have contact with multiple people in every course, so asking your clinical mentor for feedback on clinical skills, for example, so that you can start the long process of learning communication skills, is essential,\u201d Parkas said.<\/p>\n

If your school doesn\u2019t have a formalized mentorship program, feel free to talk to someone in the dean\u2019s office for advice or reach out to a faculty member directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t feel shy about reaching out to faculty members who are available, accessible, and who create psychological safety,\u201d Pearlman said. \u201cFaculty members like this love to mentor. Set up an appointment with them, ask them if they would be comfortable being a mentor \u2014 yes, you can ask this \u2014 or if that feels uncomfortable, ask if they would be willing to have you check in with them from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participating in activities outside of the classroom, such as volunteering or joining school clubs or organizations, may provide you some informal access to potential mentors.<\/p>\n

Business News Listen to Your Peers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Your fellow students can provide valuable clinical and classroom feedback, as well as morale boosts and the \u201cwe\u2019re all in this together\u201d kind of support that can get you through the tough times.<\/p>\n

Parkas said receiving and providing feedback is a key part of being a doctor, so learning to do so constructively in medical school is a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedicine is a team endeavor,\u201d she said. \u201cWe work in teams in the emergency room, the operating room, the inpatient services, and in outpatient medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Business
Valerie Parkas, MD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That makes it very important in medical school to start the lifelong learning habit of checking in with your peers and colleagues and asking for feedback. It\u2019s also important to ask all members of team for feedback, and this also starts during training, she said.<\/p>\n

Peer mentorship and near-peer mentorship are also formalized in many medical schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis allows medical students and trainees to teach each other, perfecting teaching skills, and allowing trainees to \u2018all rise\u2019 together,\u201d Parkas said. \u201cThis mindset of all rising together is central to medical education.\u201d<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t hesitate to seek out informal feedback as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can always ask a peer for feedback,\u201d Pearlman said. \u201cPick someone whom you trust to give you balanced and helpful feedback. It can be helpful to ask permission initially, saying something like, \u2018I was wondering if you would feel comfortable giving me some feedback?\u2019 Then it is helpful to ask for both reinforcing and modifying feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, ask, \u201cWhat do you think I am doing that is effective?\u201d and \u201cWhat do you think I could be doing to be more effective?\u201d You may even want to start with your own self-assessment and ask for them to comment on it, Pearlman said.<\/p>\n

Business News Listen to Yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Self-assessment and personal reflection can often produce some of the most useful feedback you can receive \u2014 in medical school and in life. Collins recommends focusing on your successes, stumbles, and everything in between.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-reflection and journaling are great ways for students to process what goes on during their medical education,\u201d she said. \u201cThe first academic challenge, the first failure, the first incredible success, the first patient experience \u2014 good or bad \u2014 can serve as a lesson learned for all of our students. When they write about it or spend time thinking about their experience, they often independently come up with ways they could have approached the situation differently or what they learned from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds that reviewing cases is what physicians do as part of their professional quality assurance process, so beginning that type of reflection or analysis as a student can only help when you enter your residency and as you become an independent physician.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-reflection in the form of journaling or conversation is important for perspective-taking,\u201d Pearlman said. \u201cIt can remind you of how far you have come and keep you in touch with your purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Stephania Grisby<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Between the academic demands in the classroom, the challenges of clinical training, and just trying to maintain your mental and physical health along the way, medical school doesn\u2019t always leave a lot of room for getting the kind of helpful feedback you need to feel confident about how you\u2019re doing. But going without feedback isn\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":841497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52176,4455,35067],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-841496","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-feedback","8":"category-finding","9":"category-heath"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}