Table 3 Major themes and representative quotes from interviews with residents participating in in-person feedback

 Theme 1: Having a conversation.

 Residents identified that the ability to engage the feedback provider in conversation and discuss feedback content was a key mediator of feedback-seeking.

I guess for this, since it was an option, it’d be really great to get feedback, to build more skills, and to be able to ask questions (R15)

I had specific kinds of concerns about areas of my performance that I wasn’t sure exactly how to improve on in the future, and we talked about those and discussed strategies for improving them. (R21)

 Theme 2: How I learn

 Residents sought feedback when they perceived the feedback environment to be complimentary to how they learned best.

I’m the kind of person that does need to process (…) if I’m one person, and it’s like a one-on-one teaching session, then I can do that process with one person, (….) and basically control the traffic of the information exchange (R18)

I felt like I knew enough of the medicine that I could kind of reassure myself but it’s definitely not as helpful just to think about it on my own as to get feedback from someone else who’s more experienced (R21)

 Theme 3: Importance of trust.

 Trainees are more likely to engage in feedback-seeking if they trust the feedback source.

You’re someone I trust and look up to, and I know you’re very reasonable. So, when you write feedback, if you say something good, I will believe it, and if you say something bad, I will believe it too. It’s just more acceptable to me (R18)

Yeah, there’s certain things like just knowing (….) and also feeling comfortable with you maybe encouraged me to do it. (R26)

 Theme 4: Importance of shared goals

 Trainees seek feedback when they perceive that feedback providers share their developmental goals

I think it’s really helpful … it helps that I’ve worked with you before, that I know what your goals are, that they’re the same goals that I have. (R15)

Those are, pieces that I expect you to comment on … the things that you’re valuing and the things that I’m expecting you to value. (R18)

 Theme 5: Improving patient care skills

(…) because I know what my future is, and if there’s a real code in three months from now and I’m a fellow, I don’t want to not have done something because I was too wimpy to sit down for feedback. (R18)

I think that you can’t, especially in emergency situations, you can’t have too much feedback about those. I think it’s one of the most important skills we have to develop, especially for people who are interested in going into more critical care type of things (R5)