Efectividad del feedback dialógico en la adquisición de competencias clínicas: un estudio longitudinal

Introduction

There is currently a need to ensure the acquisition of clinical skills among Health Sciences students. Clinical practices are essential for this but are often ineffective. Research suggests that the feedback used in medical education is of little use, implying a need to change focus toward sustainable feedback, therefore this research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing dialogic feedback in acquiring skills among Nutrition and Dietetics students.

Material and methods

Longitudinal study with a prospective cohort, follow-up was done on 13 students up for 3 years. Level of clinical skill was evaluated with a rubric on 7 cases, beginning with the Diagnostic in 2016; then in 2017 five cases were carried out with a dialogic feedback process at the end of each of the clinical experiences (Beginning, 3 formative and End), and the following year (2018) with a gap of 4-6 months in the Professional Practice. Each intervention with dialogic feedback lasted 30-45 minutes and encouraged self-assessment based on the evaluation items, ending with consensus on improvement objectives.

Results

There are significant differences between the skill level achieved by students in Diagnostic vs. End of clinical experiences and Internship, and between the Beginning and End of clinical experiences. There are also differences in the performance criteria evaluated.

Conclusion

Dialogic feedback contributes to acquiring clinical skills. We suggest that this process should be cyclical and motivated by teachers, to develop self-regulation and calibrate students’ evaluative judgment.