3 Ways to Involve Residents in Remediation

Resident remediation is tricky enough without adding confusion about who should be writing the plan. One question that comes up often is: should residents help build their own remediation plan? The short answer is no. The plan should be created by faculty and program leadership. But that doesn’t mean residents should be left in the dark. Involving them at the right points, once the plan is in motion, can make the difference between a defensive resident and one who grows through the process. 

Many programs don’t know if their remediation process would hold up under review. That’s why I created the free Resident Remediation Risk Assessment — it only takes a few minutes and helps you see if your process is fair, defensible, and effective → Take the Quiz

Who Creates the Plan?

Let’s get this clear from the start. The resident remediation plan is not a group project. It isn’t a brainstorming session where everyone throws out ideas. The structure must come from faculty, using:

• Data and direct observation
• Milestones and competencies
• Documented performance concerns
• Program goals and expectations

Residents are learners, not co-authors. That doesn’t mean they’re excluded. It means the faculty sets the framework, and residents are invited into the process to reflect, ask questions, and respond to the plan.

Case Example: The Defensive Resident Who Opened Up

To see what this looks like in practice, let’s look at a case:

A resident began remediation defensive and shut down. They were embarrassed, anxious, and worried about what the process meant for their future. Faculty presented the plan calmly, explained the observations behind it, and outlined how progress would be tracked.

Here’s where it shifted. The plan included a weekly self-assessment with prompts like:

• What went well this week?
• What didn’t go well?
• What feedback did you receive?
• Where do you feel stuck?

At first, the answers were short and mechanical. By the third week, the resident began sharing genuine reflections and even suggested that one activity wasn’t helping them improve. Faculty reviewed the data, agreed with the insight, and adjusted that portion of the plan. The resident didn’t rewrite the plan, but they engaged with it, and that made all the difference.

Strategy 1: Use Resident Self-Assessments

One of the simplest and most powerful ways to involve residents is through self-assessment. Not forty-five question forms nobody wants to complete, but reflection prompts that matter.

Ask questions like:

• Where did you notice improvement?
• What feedback did you get?
• How did you respond to it?
• Where are you still struggling?

Logs like these become valuable discussion tools in remediation meetings. Sometimes resident reflections align with faculty observations. Sometimes they reveal blind spots. Either way, they provide insight without giving up structure.

Strategy 2: Discuss What’s Working and What Isn’t

Remediation plans should be structured, but they shouldn’t be rigid. Think of them as living documents. Midpoint check-ins are essential, not just for tracking progress but for asking:

• What’s helping?
• What isn’t helping?
• Are the activities actually building the skills we’re targeting?

These conversations don’t erase the plan. They fine-tune it. More importantly, they show the resident that the plan is about coaching, not punishment.

Strategy 3: Let Residents Own Their Progress

Faculty create the plan, but residents own the outcome. That means they need to:

• Track their goals
• Reflect on feedback
• Speak up when something isn’t clear
• Bring forward evidence of progress that faculty may not have directly observed

This shifts the resident’s role from passive recipient to active participant. When residents take accountability, remediation moves from something being “done to them” to something they’re invested in.

Where Collaboration Belongs

Collaboration doesn’t mean co-creation. Residents don’t need to co-write the plan, but they should review it, reflect on it, and share what’s helping. Their input can highlight blind spots faculty may not see and help shape adjustments that keep the plan effective.

Final Thoughts

Remediation works best when residents have clarity, agency, and support. Faculty provide structure. Residents provide engagement. Together, that combination creates growth.

Being vulnerable in remediation is uncomfortable for residents, but when they feel safe enough to share honestly, that’s where the real progress begins. Involving them in the process, not in writing the plan but in reflecting on it and owning their growth, turns remediation into a partnership rather than a punishment.

👉 Read Next

Written by Dr. Nicole McGuire (Doc Mac), Education Specialist at Union Hospital Family Medicine Residency and Founder of Doc Mac Learning. Through her ELEVATE framework, she helps residency programs create remediation plans that are fair, defensible, and effective.

Worried about your remediation process? Take the free Resident Remediation Risk Assessment →  See Where You Stand