Learning in the workplace: Use of informal feedback cues in doctor-patient communication

Doctors are expected to be lifelong learners. Participation in clinical practice is an important potential source of this learning. This study shows how doctors recognise and use informal feedback from interactions with patients in the outpatient setting as learning cues to adapt their communication behaviour in daily practice. The study shows differences in individual physicians' levels of sensitivity in recognising and using learning opportunities in daily practice, which is further influenced by personal and interpersonal factors.