Mobile Application to Improve Just-in-Time 2-Way Formative Feedback in Graduate Medical Education

Abstract

Background An easy-to-use application to facilitate direct observation and allow for 2-way feedback between residents and faculty is needed. Objective To develop a mobile-based application (app) with the goals of (1) providing just-in-time feedback to residents; (2) improving timeliness of feedback by faculty; and (3) allowing residents to comment on the value of faculty feedback. Methods Fifty-one of 69 (74%) internal medicine (IM) residents and 20 of 25 (80%) IM core faculty participated in the study from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. An iOS app was designed by authors with expertise in medical education and application development to capture entrustable professional activities (EPAs)-based feedback (eg, informed consent) based on direct observation of residents’ skills in the workplace. App utilization and narrative feedback characteristics of faculty comments were examined by exporting the data from the database server. The end user satisfaction was examined using a survey instrument. Results Eighty-seven percent of assessments (117 of 134) initiated were fully completed by residents and faculty. Faculty narrative comments were noted in 97% (114 of 117) of completed assessments and 64% (75 of 117) of residents’ feedback to the faculty contained narrative comments. Eighty-three percent (97 of 117) of comments were behaviorally specific and 71% (83 of 117) contained an actionable item. Eighty-six percent (18 of 21) of residents and 90% (9 of 10) of core faculty stated that this application promoted an educational interaction between them. Conclusions This app facilitates the efficient completion of EPA-based formative assessments and captures bidirectional feedback in the workplace setting.