Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan-Feb;49(1):49-57.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-48.6.14. Epub 2013 Oct 23.

Feedback in clinical education, part I: Characteristics of feedback provided by approved clinical instructors

Sara Nottingham  1 , Jolene Henning
Affiliations

Feedback in clinical education, part I: Characteristics of feedback provided by approved clinical instructors

Sara Nottingham et al. J Athl Train. 2014 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Context: Providing students with feedback is an important component of athletic training clinical education; however, little information is known about the feedback that Approved Clinical Instructors (ACIs; now known as preceptors) currently provide to athletic training students (ATSs).

Objective: To characterize the feedback provided by ACIs to ATSs during clinical education experiences.

Design: Qualitative study.

Setting: One National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletic training facility and 1 outpatient rehabilitation clinic that were clinical sites for 1 entry-level master's degree program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.

Patients or other participants: A total of 4 ACIs with various experience levels and 4 second-year ATSs.

Data collection and analysis: Extensive field observations were audio recorded, transcribed, and integrated with field notes for analysis. The constant comparative approach of open, axial, and selective coding was used to inductively analyze data and develop codes and categories. Member checking, triangulation, and peer debriefing were used to promote trustworthiness of the study.

Results: The ACIs gave 88 feedback statements in 45 hours and 10 minutes of observation. Characteristics of feedback categories included purpose, timing, specificity, content, form, and privacy.

Conclusions: Feedback that ACIs provided included several components that made each feedback exchange unique. The ACIs in our study provided feedback that is supported by the literature, suggesting that ACIs are using current recommendations for providing feedback. Feedback needs to be investigated across multiple athletic training education programs to gain more understanding of certain areas of feedback, including frequency, privacy, and form.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure.
Figure.
Participant dyads.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Barnum MG, Guyer S, Levy LS, Graham C. The supervision, questioning, feedback model of clinical teaching: a practical approach. In: Weidner TG, editor. The Athletic Trainer's Pocket Guide to Clinical Teaching. Thorofare, NJ: Slack Incorporated;; 2009. pp. 85–99. In. ed.
    1. Ende J. Feedback in clinical medical education. JAMA. 1983;250(6):777–781. - PubMed
    1. Hattie J, Timperley H. The power of feedback. Rev Educ Res. 2007;77(1):81–112.
    1. Shute VJ. Focus on formative feedback. Rev Educ Res. 2008;78(1):153–189.
    1. Lauber CA, Toth PE, Leary PA, Martin RD, Killian CB. Program directors' and clinical instructors' perceptions of important clinical-instructor behavior categories in the delivery of athletic training clinical instruction. J Athl Train. 2003;38(4):336–341. - PMC - PubMed