Why Feedback Is One of the Most Powerful Tools in CPD
Think back to a piece of feedback that genuinely changed the way you practise.
A consultant quietly says, "Next time, make sure the patient understands and can verbalise the consequences of their decisions when you seek consent."
Perhaps a patient told you they finally understood their condition because of the way you explained it. Or maybe they told you they left the consultation confused.
A colleague comments that your handover was clear, but your documentation could have been more concise.
Many doctors can remember these moments in remarkable detail, even decades later.
Why?
Because feedback has enormous educational potential.
Not because feedback itself magically changes behaviour, but because it provides something every meaningful learning process requires: evidence.
Like any good clinician, we make better decisions when we have better evidence. The same principle applies to professional development.
Reflection needs evidence
Reflection sits at the heart of Continuing Professional Development.
Unfortunately, reflection is sometimes misunderstood as simply "thinking about what happened."
In reality, meaningful reflection involves examining evidence, interpreting what it means, and deciding whether your future practice should change as a result.
Without evidence, reflection quickly becomes speculation, or is even dismissed as noise.
That evidence can come from many different sources.
It might be objective data from a clinical audit. It could be patient outcomes, complication rates, quality indicators, workplace-based assessments, logbook data, multisource assessments, incident / case reviews or quality improvement projects.
Feedback is simply another form of evidence, but it is one of the most powerful.
Unlike data derived from other sources, it has qualities which make it not only a rich source of learning, but is far more likely to be taken seriously.
Importantly, it often tells us things we cannot see ourselves.
Why feedback is so powerful
Educational research consistently identifies feedback as one of the most influential factors affecting learning and performance improvement.[1]
But there is an important caveat.
Feedback only has educational value if something happens after it is received.
Every doctor has received advice that was politely acknowledged and promptly forgotten. Equally, most clinicians can recall feedback that fundamentally changed the way they practise.
The difference is reflection.
Reflection is the process that transforms feedback into learning.
A supervisor's comment remains simply information until you examine it, compare it with your own understanding, decide whether you agree with it, and determine whether it should change your future behaviour.
The learning occurs during this process—not at the moment the feedback is delivered.
Seen this way, feedback is not the learning itself.
It is evidence that stimulates learning.
Not all feedback is equally useful
We've all experienced feedback that wasn't particularly helpful.
Comments such as "Good job" or "Needs improvement" may be well intentioned, but they provide little guidance about what should change.
Educational research has consistently shown that effective feedback has several important characteristics.[2,3]
First, it needs to be credible.
We are far more likely to accept feedback from someone whose judgement we respect. A trusted supervisor, experienced colleague, mentor or patient often carries far greater influence than someone with limited understanding of our work.
Credibility creates openness.
Second, feedback should be specific.
Rather than saying, "Your communication was good," a more useful comment might be:
"You paused after explaining the procedure and checked the patient's understanding before continuing. That made the conversation much clearer."
Or instead of:
"Your documentation could be better."
A supervisor might say:
"Your assessment was excellent, but documenting your clinical reasoning more explicitly would help the on-call team understand why you chose that management plan."
Specific feedback identifies behaviours that can actually change.
Third, feedback should be timely.
Comments delivered soon after an event allow clinicians to revisit their thinking while the details are still fresh.
Finally, feedback should be relevant.
The closer it relates to your own clinical work and professional responsibilities, the more likely it is to influence future practice.
These characteristics explain why feedback from supervisors, mentors, respected colleagues and patients can be particularly powerful. They observe aspects of our practice that we cannot evaluate objectively ourselves, and their opinions often carry weight because they understand the context in which we work.
Feedback is only the beginning
Receiving feedback is not the end of the educational process.
In many ways, it is the beginning.
Once feedback has been received, the important questions become:
Why was this feedback given?
Do I agree with it?
What evidence supports or challenges it?
What assumptions was I making?
What should I do differently next time?
This is where feedback becomes educational.
Sometimes reflection confirms that no change is needed. Sometimes it reveals an important blind spot. Sometimes it identifies a completely new learning need.
Whatever the outcome, the educational value lies in the reflection—not simply in receiving the comments.
If your reflection identifies a knowledge gap or skill you wish to develop further, add it to your Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP). This transforms feedback from an isolated event into a driver of future learning.
Making feedback part of your CPD
One challenge in healthcare is that meaningful feedback rarely arrives by accident.
Most clinicians receive less feedback than they would like—not because supervisors are unwilling to provide it, but because nobody asks.
Seeking feedback deliberately changes the conversation.
Rather than waiting for comments to arise opportunistically, you actively invite perspectives on areas where you genuinely want to improve.
The result is feedback that is purposeful, relevant and much more likely to influence practice.
Extending your learning with Osler
Osler has been designed to make obtaining and using feedback straightforward.
You can request feedback on your Personal Career Development Plan, allowing a supervisor, mentor or trusted colleague to review your learning goals before you commit to them. They may identify gaps, suggest additional priorities, or simply reassure you that your plan is appropriate for your current stage of practice.
You can also request feedback on any patient or procedure entered into your logbook. This allows experienced clinicians to comment on your assessment, procedural technique, communication, documentation or clinical reasoning, providing rich evidence for reflection.
Feedback can also be requested on any Self Reflection you enter on Osler - providing the ideal way to review any significant incident you come across in the course of your work.
Similarly, feedback can be requested on any CPD activity, whether it is a presentation, teaching session, journal club, workshop or educational activity. Rather than simply recording attendance, you extend the educational value by inviting another perspective on your performance or understanding.
Importantly, requesting feedback is only the first step.
The educational benefit comes from reflecting on that feedback.
Because this reflection represents additional learning, you can claim Reviewing Performance time for the reflection itself. This recognises that engaging thoughtfully with credible evidence often produces learning that extends well beyond the original activity.
If your reflection identifies new knowledge gaps or development opportunities, add them directly to your Personal Career Development Plan, completing the learning cycle.
A final thought
Many doctors naturally think of conferences, journal articles and online modules when they think about CPD.
Those activities remain important.
But sometimes the greatest professional growth begins with a single conversation.
When feedback is credible, specific, timely and relevant—and when you take the time to reflect on it—it becomes far more than advice.
It becomes evidence.
And evidence, thoughtfully reflected upon, has the power to change practice.
References
Hattie J, Timperley H. The Power of Feedback.Review of Educational Research. 2007;77(1):81-112.
Cantillon P, Sargeant J. Giving feedback in clinical settings.BMJ. 2008;337:a1961.