Evaluating Verbal Feedback in Medical Education: Utilization of a Feedback Model to Develop a Standardized Rubric for Evaluation

RATIONALE: Effective verbal feedback is crucial for the development of medical trainees; however, the lack of a standardised feedback evaluation framework makes the delivery of effective feedback challenging for faculty. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop and refine a feedback evaluation rubric based on the Self-Assessment, Feedback, Encouragement, Direction (SFED) model that can be used as a versatile tool to guide faculty in providing and evaluating verbal feedback. METHODS: We created an evaluation rubric to assess faculty feedback and provide a model for evaluating verbal feedback to a trainee based on the SFED model, which promotes formative, actionable, and learner-engaged feedback. The rubric was designed by clinicians and a medical education specialist who was an expert user of feedback models. It features the four SFED categories, each delineated into 2-3 subcategories scored on a 1-5 ordinal scale, supplemented by a global judgement score. Rubric refinement involved applying the rubric to anonymous verbal feedback transcripts to improve scoring delineation across the scale. Preliminary validation of the rubric was performed with three independent, trained raters evaluating transcripts from verbal feedback sessions and consistency was evaluated using an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). RESULTS/CONCLUSION: This versatile tool can be utilised for real-time observation, transcript analysis, or as a proactive planning tool to train faculty to provide feedback. Preliminary validation of the rubric demonstrated an excellent inter-rater reliability with an ICC of 0.90. The application of the SFED rubric has the potential to improve the quality of verbal feedback delivered to trainees, fostering trainee growth, and ultimately enhancing clinician development.