A Curious Critic’s Guide on Writing a Five-star Student Evaluation: Five Lessons Learned from Food Blogging

Timely feedback is critical in promoting learner self-reflection. When provided effectively, feedback can assist learners with the acquisition of new skills and knowledge in the ever-changing and complex landscape of healthcare. While the literature is replete on methods to provide feedback, faculty and supervisors receive little, if any, training on writing constructive feedback. Abbreviated comments (i.e., 'good job' or 'read more') provide little information on specific behaviors learners can change. As an avid food enthusiast and restaurant reviewer, I, too, am met with the challenge of writing a meaningful, constructive review (or evaluation) of a dining experience. To better assist clinical preceptors and supervisors with writing formative, constructive student evaluations, we have aggregated, reviewed, and adapted five lessons from writing food and restaurant reviews in writing a five-star student review.