Fostering clinical reasoning ability in preclinical students through an illness script worksheet approach in flipped learning: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: The consensus that clinical reasoning should be explicitly addressed throughout medical training is increasing; however, studies on specific teaching methods, particularly, for preclinical students, are lacking. This study investigated the effects of an illness script worksheet approach in flipped learning on the development of clinical reasoning abilities in preclinical students. It also explored whether the impact of this intervention differed depending on clinical reasoning ability after dividing the students into high and low groups based on their pre-diagnostic thinking inventory (DTI) scores. METHODS: This study used a one-group pre-post test design and convenience sampling. Forty-two second-year medical students were invited to participate in this study. The course, "clinical reasoning method," was redesigned as an illness script worksheet approach in flipped learning. The course was an eight-week long program. The students met once or twice per week with a different professor each time and engaged with 15 clinical cases in small groups in one classroom. Each time, one professor facilitated seven groups in a single classroom. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured using DTI before and after the intervention. A learning experience survey was conducted with post-DTI assessment. RESULTS: Thirty-six students participated in the survey and their data were analyzed. The mean pre-DTI score was 170.4, and the mean post-DTI score was 185.2, indicating an 8.68% increase (p < .001). Significant differences were also found in both high and low groups between the pre- and post-DTI assessments. However, the low group improved much more than the high group and exhibited a significant increase in one of the DTI subscales as well. The overall average score on the learning experience survey was 3.11 out of 4. CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that the intervention was an effective instructional method for the development of clinical reasoning in preclinical students and was more beneficial for students with a low level of clinical reasoning ability. This study demonstrated that the intervention can be a feasible and scalable method to effectively and efficiently train clinical reasoning in preclinical students in a classroom.

Exploring the responses of preclinical medical students and professors to flipped learning for the development of clinical reasoning.

PURPOSE: This study developed and implemented case-based flipped learning using illness script worksheets and investigated the responses of preclinical students and professors to the intervention in terms of its effectiveness, design, and implementation. METHODS: The study was conducted at a medical school in Korea, where the "clinical reasoning method" course, originally a lecture-oriented course, was redesigned into a flipped learning. In total, 42 second-year medical students and 15 professors participated in this course. After the class, online surveys were conducted, and a focus group interview was held with seven students to explore the students' experiences in more detail. RESULTS: In total, 37 students and seven professors participated in the survey. The mean score for all items is 3.12/4 for the student survey and 3.43/4 for the professor survey. The focus group interview results were categorized as the beneficial aspects and challenges for the development of clinical reasoning. CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that their responses to the intervention were generally positive, and it is thought to be an effective instructional method for fostering clinical reasoning skills in preclinical medical students.

Validating the Korean shorter Diagnostic Thinking Inventory in medical education: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: Developing clinical reasoning across the medical curriculum requires valid, reliable, and feasible assessment tools. However, few validated tools are available for the convenient and efficient quantification of clinical reasoning. Thus, this study aimed to create a shorter version of the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI) and validate it in the Korean medical education context (DTI-SK). METHODS: The DTI-SK was constructed using content validity and a translation and back-translation process. It comprises two subcategories and 14 items. Its validity and reliability were explored using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, mean comparisons of four medical student groups (med 1 to med 4), and internal consistency using Cronbach's α. Two hundred medical students were invited to participate through email, and the survey was administered for 2 weeks. RESULTS: Data from 136 students were analyzed. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 and they together explained 54.65% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the model had acceptable level of fit and convergent validity. Discriminant validity was confirmed using heterotrait-monotrait criterion. Group comparisons demonstrated that the med 4 students showed significantly higher scores than the med 1 and 2 students. The inventory exhibited strong internal consistency for all items (Cronbach's α=0.906). CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that the DTI-SK is a reliable and valid tool for measuring medical students' clinical reasoning in the context of Korean medical education.