Purpose <p>Effective feedback is a cornerstone of medical education. Yet, a growing body of research suggests that feedback delivered to medical students is not judged as helpful by the students in promoting learning and growth. Existing research has emphasized the perspective of the receiver of feedback, medical students, while neglecting the perspective of those who commonly deliver feedback, supervising surgeons. This study aims to examine the perspective of surgery clerkship leadership to understand the current feedback systems in place and their experiences providing feedback within that system to medical students, as well as the barriers to delivering honest feedback.</p> Methods <p>A novel 24-item questionnaire was developed and distributed to surgery clerkship leadership at LCME-accredited medical schools. This questionnaire assessed the current feedback system at their institution, the quality of feedback delivered, and perceived barriers to the delivery of feedback. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, contingency table analysis, and logistic regression.</p> Results <p>Forty-eight (28%) of 170 surgical education leaders completed the survey. 88% of respondents reported that their program has clear feedback mechanisms in place, and 75% of respondents agreed that the feedback given to students during their surgery clerkship is constructive. However, when asked to identify barriers to the delivery of honest feedback, 52% of respondents reported concerns that medical students are not receptive to feedback, and 44% noted concerns of added administrative burden due to students’ grade dissatisfaction (44%).</p> Conclusion <p>This study demonstrates that barriers to feedback on the surgery clerkship are multifactorial. Our results suggest that interventions are necessary to support surgical faculty in providing critical and constructive feedback when needed.</p>