Tensions in post-examination feedback: information for learning versus potential for harm.

Medical students are often considered relatively homogenous and high achieving, yet the results of this study suggest caution when providing them with normative feedback indicating poorer performance relative to their peers. There is much need for further work to explore efficient methods of providing written feedback that improves medical students' ability to self-regulate their learning, particularly when giving feedback to those students who have the most room for improvement.