Table 3

Key themes denoting barriers to trainee to trainer feedback with verbatim examples from the open-ended question responses

Barriers to trainee to trainer feedback	Verbatim examples
Lack of anonymity affecting ability to give honest feedback	Difficult as non-anonymised so quality of true feedback may be impaired. Some trainers only have one trainee. So, all the feedback, although anonymous could be tracked to the person
Time constraints	Lack of time…… to many patients on the training list…… Sufficient time at ad-hoc list is not always easy
Concern around openness/ receptiveness of trainer to feedback from trainee	Those that are interested in receiving feedback ask for it, those that are not interested do not and I don't think they would be interested in receiving it in a different form
Concern about how feedback could affect future training	I didn't feel I could give honest feedback for the fear of retribution and being side-lined
Infrequent lists	Lack of lists—less than one a month
Hierarchical barriers	I think maybe because my trainer is one of my consultants and the power balance could potentially make it difficult to give honest feedback
Not regular practice/not expected	I forget to complete the form and my trainer doesn't seem bothered if I do complete