ISC: How Doctors Think : Clinical Reasoning and Decision Making

School of Medicine

Clinical reasoning is essential to effectively apply basic, translational, and clinical scientific evidence to patient care. Principles taught and interwoven in this course include: 1) application of clinical reasoning to diagnostic testing and therapeutic interventions; 2) identification and avoidance of cognitive biases; 3) interpretation of diagnostic tests and test characteristics; and 4) medical epistemology. Throughout the course, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learn in the clinical environment (i.e., internal medicine, pediatrics, and/or emergency medicine) and reflect on how clinical reasoning may be used in clinical medicine. Foundational sciences addressed within the course include behavioral psychology, biostatistics, epidemiology, epistemology, ethics, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. This course is designed to be a space that supports growth and reflection. The diagnostic process requires an appreciation for uncertainty, which is upheld in the philosophy of the course's educational and assessment methods. Faculty will work to provide a "safe space" where students can build both skill and confidence. Faculty will serve as hands-on mentors, modeling their own practices and coaching students to build confidence in their own cognition and reasoning.