Family Medicine International Medical Graduate Residents’ Experience with Receiving Feedback During Residency Training at Western University
Tania RUBAIYYAT, Jamie WICKandT and George KIM
International medical graduates (IMGs) are a cohort of family medicine residents who have done their medical degree outside of XXX. Due to the heterogeneous medical degree background of IMGs, one might wonder if IMGs have a different experience in receiving feedback compared to their XXX trained counterparts.The objective of this qualitative research study was to explore and describe the experience of recent IMG resident graduates’ experience in receiving feedback during their Family Medicine training at Western University.A qualitative descriptive design using Iterative and interpretative analysis techniques was used. A semi-structured interview guide was used.Three distinct themes were noted. The first theme was the meaning of feedback. The logistics of feedback was the second theme – four sub-themes 1) type and timing of feedback; 2) delivery of the feedback (who and how); 3) resident-initiated feedback and 4) evolution of feedback throughout residency. The final theme was experience with feedback: two sub-themes- 1) experience with positive feedback and 2) experience with negative feedback.All participants agreed the purpose of feedback is to address areas of improvement with the goal of improving overall performance. Both formal and informal feedback were received. They received feedback mostly from their core FM supervisors. Most feedback occurred face to face. Usually, most of the feedback is initiated by the supervisor. In this study, residents have initiated the feedback to comprehend the expectations of that rotation. Over the residency, residents did not notice any change in the frequency of formal feedback. Informal feedback became less frequent. Residents received positive and negative feedback in a wide variety of areas. Positive feedback boosted their confidence while negative feedback made them to question their ability and affected performance negatively.This study provided an enhanced understanding of the experience of IMG residents in receiving feedback during FM residency, which can be used by the Postgraduate program in reviewing the way in which feedback is delivered to IMG residents.
