Exploring residents’ reactions to and use of parent feedback in a pediatric emergency department: A grounded theory study

AbstractBackground: Competency-based medical education (CBME) involves workplace-based assessment. In pediatrics, patients’ parents can participate in this assessment and generate feedback for residents. Prior to routinely collecting parent feedback, it is important to investigate residents’ perspectives on it.Aim: To explore residents’ reactions to and use of written parent feedback.Methods: Using a grounded theory approach, we interviewed residents who received written parent feedback at the mid- and end-points of a pediatric emergency training rotation.Results: Twenty-five residents participated. The residents reacted positively to the feedback. They thought that it complements educators’ feedback, can elucidate parents’ perspectives and needs, and is something that residents want and need. Although the residents thought that non-specific negative parent feedback is not useful, they believed non-specific positive and constructive parent feedback to be encouraging and useful. They delineated how they us...