# How near-peer supervisors experience their own development in the supervisor role when shifting from written to oral interactive feedback: a qualitative interview study

## TL;DR

Medical student supervisors who shifted from written to oral feedback experienced personal and professional growth, improving communication and leadership skills relevant to their future roles as doctors.

## Contribution

This study reveals how near-peer supervisors benefit from oral interactive feedback, highlighting its role in developing professional and interpersonal skills.

## Key findings

- Supervisors gained confidence and experienced professional and personal growth through oral feedback dialogues.
- They improved communication skills, leadership, and ability to establish professional relationships.
- Oral feedback helped supervisors adapt methods to different purposes and gain insights into their future roles as physicians.

## Abstract

Oral interactive feedback has been shown to help students learn more compared to written feedback. However, less is known of what student supervisors gain from engaging in feedback with peers or near peers. This study explored near-peer supervisors’ experiences of development in their role as supervisors when shifting from one-way written feedback to oral interactive feedback.

We conducted a qualitative interview study with 10 medical student supervisors from an introductory course in person-centred medicine. In focus groups, they reflected upon how they experienced the difference between providing written and oral interactive feedback, and what impact it had on them. Analysis was conducted with systematic text condensation, a method for thematic cross-case analysis.

The supervisors reported that oral interactive feedback contributed to their development in various aspects of their supervisor role. Through feedback dialogues with students, they gained confidence and experienced both professional and personal growth. They also learned to adapt the feedback methods to different purposes. Additionally, they found their supervisor experiences relevant to meeting patients as physicians, describing improvement in communication skills, leadership and the ability to establish professional relationships, as well as acquiring new insights into their future role as physicians.

Institutions should recognise a potential reciprocal gain for both parts in a feedback process and consider facilitating oral interactive feedback more frequently, not least in education encouraging students to reflect upon own experiences and emotions. Providing oral interactive feedback can be a powerful learning opportunity. Student supervisors should be encouraged to explore the close connection between their role as supervisors and their future role as physicians.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-025-07798-0.