Feedback Credibility in a Formative Postgraduate Objective Structured Clinical Examination: Effects of Examiner Type

ABSTRACT Background  Resident perspectives on feedback are key determinants of its acceptance and effectiveness, and provider credibility is a critical element in perspective formation. It is unclear what factors influence a resident's judgment of feedback credibility. Objective  We examined how residents perceive the credibility of feedback providers during a formative objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in 2 ways: (1) ratings of faculty examiners compared with standardized patient (SP) examiners, and (2) ratings of faculty examiners based on alignment of expertise and station content. Methods  During a formative OSCE, internal medicine residents were randomized to receive immediate feedback from either faculty examiners or SP examiners on communication stations, and at least 1 specialty congruent and either 1 specialty incongruent or general internist faculty examiner for clinical stations. Residents rated perceived credibility of feedback providers on a 7-point scale. Results were analyzed...