The Feedback Gap: Feedback Literacy as An Underrecognized Educational Target in Surgical Education

The ability to give and receive feedback effectively is a critical skill for surgeons at all stages of training and practice. However, there is little formalized training on how to participate in this process. Feedback literacy (FL) is a framework for understanding the behaviors and attributes required of both participants within a feedback dyad to facilitate meaningful interactions. By understanding how the presence or absence of these domains shape the quality of a feedback interaction, FL provides a set of standards for improving feedback processes. We provide descriptive examples of how well- and under-developed FL can manifest in surgical trainees and faculty and argue that FL should be recognized as a standalone competency in graduate surgical education.