Effective feedback is critical to medical education in that it promotes learning and ensures that benchmark learning objectives are achieved. Yet the nature of and response to feedback is variable. In this article, the authors provide a comprehensive review of the effective feedback literature. Namely, they discuss the various approaches to feedback, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as barriers to providing effective feedback. Finally, they offer suggestions for steps both the feedback giver and receiver can take to foster a culture of successful feedback in an academic and clinical setting.