Formative Feedback Policy

PURPOSE
To outline the rationale and requirements for provision of formative feedback to medical students on their performance

AUDIENCE
All School of Medicine faculty educators

LCME STANDARD
9.7 Formative Assessment and Feedback

POLICY

Formative feedback is essential for students’ professional development.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education requires formative feedback be provided to medical students in all courses and clerkships of four or more weeks in duration.
Course Directors must ensure that one or more faculty instructing during educational experiences provide formative feedback to students.
Students must be given opportunities to seek and receive formative feedback prior to receiving a final grade.

PROCEDURE

For all pre-clerkship courses, students must receive formative feedback at least once at the mid-point of the course. This feedback may include informal verbal feedback, written narrative feedback, self-assessment questions or graded assignments. Students must receive formative feedback at the mid-point, but also at a frequency no less than every four weeks.
For clerkship rotations, students must receive written formative feedback. The written feedback must include, at a minimum, a mid-point evaluation. In addition to the mid-point evaluation, all supervising clinicians should provide feedback to students throughout the rotation verbally and/or using formal documentation methods (I.e., evaluation forms, mini-CEX, EPA assessments, etc.).

RESPONSIBILITY
Course Directors

REFERENCES
Liaison Committee on Medical Education, Structure and Function of a Medical School - Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education Programs Leading to the MD Degree

POLICY OWNER
Committee on Educational Policy

REVIEWED & APPROVED BY
Clerkship Curriculum Manager
Post-Clerkship Curriculum Manager
Committee on Educational Policy*
Dean of Curriculum and Medical Education

REVIEWED DATE and REVIEW CYCLE
July 2021; 3-year cycle