Feedback Culture among Nigerian Orthodontic Medical Educators

BACKGROUND: Feedback is central to a quality medical and dental education in promoting self-directed learning and enhance progressive sharpening of trainees’ skills, which are applicable in orthodontics. Hence, orthodontic educators must be conversant with the subject of feedback. There is insufficient information concerning this at the moment. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence, quality, and barriers to feedback culture among Nigerian orthodontic educators. DESIGN OF THE STUDY: Cross sectional. SETTING: Nigerian orthodontists in training institutions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive study involving orthodontic educators in Nigeria, was done using a 26-item structured questionnaire distributed face-to-face or through google forms. Simple descriptive data analysis was done to address the study objectives. RESULTS: Twenty-five orthodontic educators participated. Sixteen (60%) alluded to existence of a formal feedback culture in their centers, and 10, that is, 40% of the educators were comfortable giving feedback by themselves. Over half, 13, that is, 52% of the educators gave feedback as the need arises, and a few educators (18, 72%) rated the quality of feedback given as “good.” In contrast, 11, that is, 44% of the educators always sought feedback from trainees, and 8, that is, 32% among them never sought feedback from colleagues. Feedback execution was preferred at different times including after teaching (10, 40%), after assessment (3, 12%), during practical (7, 28%), and on observations relating to attitude and professionalism (7, 28%). Feedback was mainly verbal and based on reports/observations. Time constraint was the barrier identified by the majority (13, 52%) of the participants. CONCLUSION: The scope and quality of feedback practice among orthodontic educators in Nigeria were inadequate. Time constraint was the most common barrier to feedback alluded to by the participants. There is a need to improve on feedback culture in orthodontics training in Nigeria.