Feedback is good!

Feedback is good!  Yet all to often, we are reticent to provide feedback to our colleagues, our trainees and ourselves.

There is a large body of research that suggests that one of the key drivers of human behavior is feedback.  This feedback may come from within - completing a task and gaining satisfaction from the completion - or from without - a faculty member/program director/DME providing feedback to a trainee.  How this latter feedback is delivered is critical as destructive feedback can do much damage.

The AODME recently received feedback on the 2011 joint Annual Meeting with AACOM.  This feedback was all GOOD!!!  That is not to say there there were not both positive and negative comments - there were both - but the simple task of attendees taking the time to honestly comment and the review by both the program committee and individual faculty members is nothing but GOOD.  Over the years, I have learned from playing both roles - program planner and faculty member.

As a program planner, it is clear that our members want interactive sessions that provide practical information on how to perform their daily job.  As DMEs one is an educator, leader, manager, human resource specialist, counselor, marketer and cheerleader all wrapped up in to one.  The AODME needs to provide support for all of these roles.  There is also a need to inform our members of how outside agencies and outside regulations impact their jobs.  Members are also quite sensitive to extreme opinions on topics.  Those appear to be better received when they are balanced by a panel of varied views.

As an individual, I relish the feedback to help me improve.  Generally individuals flow right to the negative comments.  The second reaction is usually defensive.  Once one gets past these knee-jerk tendencies, the real meat of personal improvement ensues.  Willie Stargell (I'm a Pirates' fan and Willie was the captain in 1979 when they last won the World Series) said:  "I eventually became proud of my strikeouts, because each one represented another learning experience."  One of my personal shortcomings is the use of acronyms - alphabet soup.  I have set a goal to work on this.  Thanks for the tip!!  I received a curious comment several years ago, someone in the audience interpreted an aviation reference that I used regarding Tenerife and patient safety as all wrong.  This person was a pilot.  I missed the point.  I subsequently improved the delivery.  Thanks again!!  I used a reference to ACGME DIO's that there were not degree requirements.  I said that one didn't "even need a high school diploma."  My point was that the ACGME has an open process.  My comment though was perceived as condescending.  I appreciate the perspective - thanks!  I'm always reminded that we all touch a different part of the elephant!

The bottom line is that each comment has helped me grow.  We never stop learning!

The bottom line...generous amounts of collegial, professional feedback is one of the greatest learning tools we have.