Hi everyone,
Lunch is better this year, don’t you think? The glop is gone, and the salads and sandwiches are fresh and crisp. I can’t take credit for the culinary coup; props go to the residents who served up feedback so we could change vendors and the menu.
Our residency thrives on feedback. Compliments make us feel good, but feedback makes us better. Trainee feedback led to the creation of color blocks, Distinctions, the MAC program, educational half-days, new rotations such as DEFINE-HM and Cardiology Blue, and the elimination of 28-hour call. This year, in response to feedback, we’re creating more opportunities for residents to gain procedural skills and, just this week, we unveiled a new flexible scholarship elective for residents to work on research, quality improvement, and education projects.
There are many venues to give feedback. Each of you meets twice-a-year with program leadership for bidirectional feedback. The Executive Council and Program Evaluation Committee serve as sounding boards and founts of fresh ideas. I set aside time each day to review MedHub evaluations of rotations, faculty, and residents. Monthly Program Director’s Meetings, the annual ACGME Survey, patient safety reports, and random emails are indispensable. The more you tell us, the more we can improve.
What’s true for the program is true for individuals. Feedback can be unsettling, especially when it exposes our blind spots. We may learn that our teaching missed the mark, our attempts to help were overbearing, and our knowledge was lacking. But if all we’re ever told is that we’re wonderful, we can’t grow.
We all need feedback because we’re all works in progress. All of us. So, please don’t indulge our egos; show us how to improve. Be honest, be constructive, and be kind, and, most of all, tell us what you really think.
Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone. This afternoon, I’m heading out to Hammonasset State Park with my beach chair and Kindle.
Mark
P.S. Recommended Reading: Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen.
P.P.S. What I’m Reading:
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks