I have just received very blunt negative feedback on my 1st draft of ethical approval submission from my supervisor. I am extremely worried that this indicates my inability and incompetency to complete a PhD.

Hi Kazwales

Lots of people feel shocked by their first bit of feedback from the supervisor. When you say negative and blunt, do you mean as in "no, change this to x", "that is wrong, it should be x", etc? If so, this is more a case of critical feedback than negative feedback, and it is what you would expect on a draft - that is why you send it to them. At PhD level often the only feedback you receive is where to correct or improve things. So don't worry - it isn't about your ability to complete a PhD.

Tudor

I had the same thing happen to me - don't panic! Just make the corrections as indicated. After my second submission, all was well.

This has nothing to do with your competency as a PhD student!

Tenzin

Thank you Tudor and Tenzin. I've calmed down after the initial shock and tried looking at the comments objectively. In most cases, the remarks are deserved! School girl errors which I could kick myself for. I've stopped looking to see if supermarkets are hiring as I'm very passionate about my research topic. Today is a new day!

Harsh feedback is something you'll need to get used to, as well as not taking it personally. If it doesn't come from your supervisor it'll certainly come from reviewers!