Teaching Feedback Strategies to Improve Clinical Skills in Health Sciences Students

Becerra-Atoche E.G.; Herrera-Plasencia P.M. · Revista Cubana de Educacion Medica Superior (2025)

Resumen

Introduction: Health sciences education requires effective teaching strategies to strengthen clinical skills. Teaching feedback guides learning and improves clinical performance. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching feedback strategies for developing clinical competencies in health sciences students. Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science between 2019 and 2024, in English. MeSH terms and keywords such as feedback, competency-based education, and clinical competence, among others, were used. A total of 1,722 studies were identified. After applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 20 were selected for qualitative analysis. Results: Six key approaches were identified: corrective feedback, immediate vs. delayed feedback, expert-structured feedback, technology-based feedback, peer feedback, and reflective feedback. Immediate and corrective feedback was most effective for procedural skills, allowing for real-time correction and reinforcing muscle memory. For clinical reasoning, expert-structured feedback offered accurate, professionally based corrections. Technology-based and reflective feedback promoted autonomous learning and self-assessment. Peer feedback showed potential, although its effectiveness depended on the quality of the comments. Conclusions: There is no single optimal strategy. The combination of immediate, expert-structured, technology-based, and reflective feedback, adjusted to the context and competence, constitutes an ideal hybrid model for maximizing learning and clinical competencies in health sciences students.

Instituciones: Universidad César Vallejo