Students' and graduates' perceptions on problem-based learning in nursing undergraduate education. / Perspectivas de estudantes e egressos sobre a aprendizagem baseada em problemas na formação de enfermeiros.

This study aimed to analyze students' and graduates' perceptions regarding the use of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in nurse education. This is a qualitative study that employs the comprehensive and interpretative approach proposed by Dialectical Hermeneutics. Four focus groups were conducted with the participation of 17 students and 16 graduates from a higher education institution that implements PBL in nurse education. The analysis of results allowed for the identification of five thematic categories: difficulty in adapting to the method; attainment of autonomy in one's own learning; encouragement of clinical reasoning development; enhancement of communication and interpersonal relationships; and integration between theory and practice. It is evident that the use of PBL promotes alignment with the propositions of curriculum guidelines for nurse education by fostering the development of skills and competencies such as autonomy, communication, interpersonal relationships, and clinical reasoning through comprehensive and contextualized practices. However, students encounter challenges with the changes observed when introduced to PBL, which are overcome during the implementation process.

Objetivou-se analisar a percepção de estudantes e egressos sobre a utilização da Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas (ABP) na formação do enfermeiro. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo que utiliza a modalidade compreensiva e interpretativa proposta pela Hermenêutica-Dialética. Realizaram-se quatro grupos focais com a participação de 17 estudantes e 16 egressos de uma instituição de ensino superior que aplica a ABP na formação de enfermeiros. A análise dos resultados permitiu a definição de cinco categorias temáticas: dificuldade de adaptação em relação ao método; conquista de autonomia sobre o próprio aprendizado; incentivo ao desenvolvimento do raciocínio clínico; aprimoramento da comunicação e das relações interpessoais e integração entre teoria e prática. Evidencia-se que a utilização da ABP favorece a aproximação com as proposições das diretrizes curriculares para a formação do enfermeiro por meio do desenvolvimento de habilidades e competências como autonomia, comunicação, relações interpessoais e raciocínio clínico mediante práticas integrais e contextualizadas. Entretanto, os estudantes enfrentam dificuldades com as mudanças observadas ao serem inseridos nela ABP, as quais são superadas no decorrer do processo de implementação.

CLINICAL REASONING AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: CAN AI REALLY THINK?

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of ChatGPT has rapidly attracted attention from physicians and medical educators. While it holds great promise for more routine medical tasks, may broaden one's differential diagnosis, and may be able to assist in the evaluation of images, such as radiographs and electrocardiograms, the technology is largely based on advanced algorithms akin to pattern recognition. One of the key questions raised in concert with these advances is: What does the growth of artificial intelligence mean for medical education, particularly the development of critical thinking and clinical reasoning? In this commentary, we will explore the elements of cognitive theory that underlie the ways in which physicians are taught to reason through a diagnostic case and compare hypothetico-deductive reasoning, often employing illness scripts, with inductive reasoning, which is based on a deeper understanding of mechanisms of health and disease. Issues of cognitive bias and their impact on diagnostic error will be examined. The constructs of routine and adaptive expertise will also be delineated. The application of artificial intelligence to diagnostic problem solving, along with concerns about racial and gender bias, will be delineated. Using several case examples, we will demonstrate the limitations of this technology and its potential pitfalls and outline the direction medical education may need to take in the years to come.

Clinical reasoning-the essentials for teaching medical students, trainees and non-medical healthcare professionals.

Clinical reasoning is fundamental for effective clinical practice. Traditional consultation models for teaching clinical reasoning or conventional approaches for teaching students how to make a diagnosis or management plan that rely on learning through observation only, are increasingly recognised as insufficient. There are also many challenges to supporting learners in developing clinical reasoning over time as well as across different clinical presentations and contexts. These challenges are compounded by the differences in how experts and novices make sense of clinical information, and the different cognitive processes each use when processing and communicating this information using precise medical language. Diagnostic errors may be due to cognitive biases but also, in a majority of cases, due to a lack of clinical knowledge. Therefore, effective educational strategies to develop clinical reasoning include identifying learners' knowledge gaps, using worked examples to prevent cognitive overload, promoting the use of key features and practising the construction of accurate problem representations. Deliberate reflection on diagnostic justification is also recommended, and overall, contributes to a growing number of evidence-based and theory-driven educational interventions for reducing diagnostic errors and improving patient care.

Clinical Reasoning: A 60-Year-Old Woman With Rapidly Progressive Muscle Weakness and Ophthalmoparesis.

The clinical assessment of patients with proximal muscle weakness represents a frequent yet intricate challenge. We present the case of a 60-year-old woman who experienced a progressive, symmetrical weakness in proximal limbs and bulbar muscles over 6 months. Notable clinical findings included bilateral ophthalmoparesis; widespread muscle atrophy; and pronounced weakness in craniobulbar, cervical, and proximal muscles, more severe than in distal ones. We elucidate a methodical diagnostic approach, focusing on constructing a comprehensive differential diagnosis and identifying potential causes of proximal muscle weakness. Special emphasis is placed on exploring the etiologies in cases presenting with both progressive muscle weakness and ophthalmoparesis. We further describe the role of muscle biopsy results and their integration with genetic testing outcomes.

Clinical Reasoning: A 17-Year-Old Adolescent Boy With New Altered Mental Status in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

We present the case of a 17-year-old adolescent boy admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit with an extensive necrotizing soft tissue infection who subsequently developed altered mental status and autonomic instability. Altered mental status is a common occurrence in critically ill children with a broad differential of etiologies. After ruling out organic causes of encephalopathy, management is typically focused on avoiding deliriogenic agents, including benzodiazepines. Dopamine antagonist medications may also be administered adjunctively to manage agitation or delirium that is refractory to other measures. We review the workup and differential diagnosis for altered mentation in critically ill children and discuss the current understanding of a rare etiology of altered mental status in the pediatric population.

[Informing the clinical reasoning of advanced practice students with nursing theories]. / Éclairer le raisonnement clinique des étudiants en pratique avancée par les théories infirmières.

This article examines the integration of a Clinical Nurse Reasoning (CNR) model into advanced nursing practice training to develop the clinical reasoning skills of advanced practice nurses. The article explores the contribution of Callista Roy's conceptual model of adaptation and presents a global analysis of a complex care situation that justifies the introduction of an CNR model paired with nursing knowledge to ensure comprehensive, quality nursing care.

Dual process models of clinical reasoning: The central role of knowledge in diagnostic expertise.

RATIONALE: Research on diagnostic reasoning has been conducted for fifty years or more. There is growing consensus that there are two distinct processes involved in human diagnostic reasoning: System 1, a rapid retrieval of possible diagnostic hypotheses, largely automatic and based to a large part on experiential knowledge, and System 2, a slower, analytical, conscious application of formal knowledge to arrive at a diagnostic conclusion. However, within this broad framework, controversy and disagreement abound. In particular, many authors have suggested that the root cause of diagnostic errors is cognitive biases originating in System 1 and propose that educating learners about the types of cognitive biases and their impact on diagnosis would have a major influence on error reduction. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: In the present paper, we take issue with these claims. METHOD: We reviewed the literature to examine the extent to which this theoretical model is supported by the evidence. RESULTS: We show that evidence derived from fundamental research in human cognition and studies in clinical medicine challenges the basic assumptions of this theory-that errors arise in System 1 processing as a consequence of cognitive biases, and are corrected by slow, deliberative analytical processing. We claim that, to the contrary, errors derive from both System 1 and System 2 reasoning, that they arise from lack of access to the appropriate knowledge, not from errors of processing, and that the two processes are not essential to the process of diagnostic reasoning. CONCLUSIONS: The two processing modes are better understood as a consequence of the nature of the knowledge retrieved, not as independent processes.

Clinical Reasoning: A 55-Year-Old Woman With Painless Hand Weakness and Atrophy.

Hand weakness is a frequent chief concern in neurology practice. We report a case of a 55-year-old woman presenting with a chronic, gradually worsening right hand weakness and atrophy, selectively affecting the thenar muscles, without any sensory symptoms. She had a history of carpal tunnel syndrome and previously underwent surgical carpal tunnel release. This case delves into the differential diagnosis of hand weakness and atrophy, emphasizing the significance of myotomal innervation in intrinsic hand muscles. Furthermore, it outlines a systematic approach to diagnosing an uncommon cause for a common clinical presentation, offering a comprehensive differential diagnosis, and exploring various possible causes.

Teaching clinical reasoning: principles from the literature to help improve instruction from the classroom to the bedside.

Clinical reasoning has been characterized as being an essential aspect of being a physician. Despite this, clinical reasoning has a variety of definitions and medical error, which is often attributed to clinical reasoning, has been reported to be a leading cause of death in the United States and abroad. Further, instructors struggle with teaching this essential ability which often does not play a significant role in the curriculum. In this article, we begin with defining clinical reasoning and then discuss four principles from the literature as well as a variety of techniques for teaching these principles to help ground an instructors' understanding in clinical reasoning. We also tackle contemporary challenges in teaching clinical reasoning such as the integration of artificial intelligence and strategies to help with transitions in instruction (e.g., from the classroom to the clinic or from medical school to residency/registrar training) and suggest next steps for research and innovation in clinical reasoning.

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.

Current status and ongoing needs for the teaching and assessment of clinical reasoning - an international mixed-methods study from the students` and teachers` perspective.

BACKGROUND: Clinical reasoning (CR) is a crucial ability that can prevent errors in patient care. Despite its important role, CR is often not taught explicitly and, even when it is taught, typically not all aspects of this ability are addressed in health professions education. Recent research has shown the need for explicit teaching of CR for both students and teachers. To further develop the teaching and learning of CR we need to improve the understanding of students' and teachers' needs regarding content as well as teaching and assessment methods for a student and trainer CR curriculum. METHODS: Parallel mixed-methods design that used web-surveys and semi-structured interviews to gather data from both students (nsurvey = 100; ninterviews = 13) and teachers (nsurvey = 112; ninterviews = 28). The interviews and surveys contained similar questions to allow for triangulation of the results. This study was conducted as part of the EU-funded project DID-ACT ( https://did-act.eu ). RESULTS: Both the surveys and interview data emphasized the need for content in a clinical reasoning (CR) curriculum such as "gathering, interpreting and synthesizing patient information", "generating differential diagnoses", "developing a diagnostic and a treatment plan" and "collaborative and interprofessional aspects of CR". There was high agreement that case-based learning and simulations are most useful for teaching CR. Clinical and oral examinations were favored for the assessment of CR. The preferred format for a train-the-trainer (TTT)-course was blended learning. There was also some agreement between the survey and interview participants regarding contents of a TTT-course (e.g. teaching and assessment methods for CR). The interviewees placed special importance on interprofessional aspects also for the TTT-course. CONCLUSIONS: We found some consensus on needed content, teaching and assessment methods for a student and TTT-course in CR. Future research could investigate the effects of CR curricula on desired outcomes, such as patient care.

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.

Characterization of the supervision of clinical reasoning by nurse anesthetists with student nurse anesthetists: a qualitative study / Caractérisation de la supervision du raisonnement clinique par les infirmiers anesthésistes auprès des étudiants infirmiers anesthésistes : une étude qualitative.

Introduction: Errors in reasoning are the main causes of poor decision-making in clinical practice. To remedy this, many studies highlight the importance of supervising clinical reasoning during medical internships. Although decision-making is an ongoing process at all key moments of the perioperative period, there are no studies on the supervision of clinical reasoning during student nurse anesthetist internships. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of the supervision of clinical reasoning by anesthesia professionals with student nurse anesthetists. Methodology: A multicenter qualitative study was carried out using observations and individual interviews with five nurse anesthetists and five students. Results: Three themes are identified : the characteristics of the learner's and supervisor's posture ; the teaching methods used ; and the specificities of clinical reasoning. Analysis: The nurse anesthetists question clinical reasoning only when they detect difficulties in the student. However, no traceability is carried out. Students spontaneously verbalize their clinical reasoning when unexpected events occur. Discussion: The results will be used as a basis for a new tool for tracing learning during internships.

Introduction: Les erreurs de raisonnement sont les principales causes de mauvaise prise de décision en clinique. Pour y remédier, de nombreuses études montrent l'importance de la supervision du raisonnement clinique pendant les stages en médecine. Bien que la prise de décision soit permanente lors de tous les moments clés de la période péri-opératoire, il n'existe aucune étude sur la supervision du raisonnement clinique durant les stages des étudiants infirmiers anesthésistes. L'objectif de cette étude est d'identifier les caractéristiques de la supervision du raisonnement clinique par les professionnels d'anesthésie auprès des étudiants infirmiers anesthésistes. Méthodologie: Une étude qualitative multicentrique a été réalisée à l'aide d'observations et d'entretiens individuels auprès de cinq infirmiers anesthésistes et cinq étudiants. Résultats: Les trois thèmes identifiés sont les caractéristiques de la posture de l'apprenant et du superviseur, les méthodes pédagogiques utilisées et les spécificités du raisonnement clinique. Analyse: Les infirmiers anesthésistes questionnent le raisonnement clinique uniquement quand ils détectent des difficultés chez l'étudiant ; cependant, aucune traçabilité n'est réalisée. Les étudiants verbalisent spontanément leur raisonnement clinique lors d'événements imprévus. Discussion: Les résultats serviront de base à un nouvel outil de traçabilité des apprentissages en stage.

Test for clinical reasoning evaluation in Speech-Language Pathology: content validity. / Teste para avaliação do raciocínio clínico em Fonoaudiologia: validade de conteúdo.

PURPOSE: To validate the content of the Speech-Language Pathology Concordance Test called FonoTCS. METHODS: This is a content validation study of the instrument. Five speech-language pathologists, all with doctoral degrees and teaching experience, averaging 24.8 years of professional practice, participated in the development of FonoTCS and reached a consensus during the process. Thirty questions and 120 items were created, covering seven areas of speech-language pathology expertise across three domains. For content validation, FonoTCS was electronically sent to 15 evaluators to respond to a questionnaire with five questions, rated on a five-point scale, regarding the criteria of clarity, ethics, and relevance of the questions. The Corrected Content Validity Coefficient was calculated for all statements to analyze the responses. Questions with agreement percentages equal to or less than 80% were revised. RESULTS: Thirteen evaluators, all female, with an average age of 39.07 years, including eight with master's degrees and five with doctoral degrees, and an average clinical practice experience of 15.38 years, participated in the analysis. The average Corrected Content Validity Coefficient values for the clarity criterion were 0.93 and 0.95, for the relevance criterion 0.98 and 0.92, and for the ethics criterion 0.99. Two questions received scores of 0.78 and 0.80, both related to the audiology area in the assessment/diagnosis domain, specifically question 2 regarding the relevance criterion. These questions were reviewed and restructured by the judges. CONCLUSION: FonoTCS is a valid instrument from a content perspective.

OBJETIVO: validar o conteúdo do Teste de Concordância de Scripts em Fonoaudiologia, denominado FonoTCS. MÉTODO: Trata-se de estudo de validação de conteúdo de instrumento. Participaram da construção do FonoTCS cinco fonoaudiólogas, doutoras e docentes, com média de 24,8 anos de atuação profissional, que chegaram a um consenso durante o processo de construção do teste. Elaborou-se 30 questões e 120 itens contemplando as áreas de atuação fonoaudiológica. Em seguida, 15 fonoaudiólogas com titulação mínima de mestre, e com, no mínimo, 10 anos de atuação clínica generalista receberam eletronicamente o FonoTCS para validação de conteúdo por meio de questionário sobre critérios de clareza, ética e pertinência do conteúdo das questões. Para a análise das respostas calculou-se o Coeficiente de Validade de Conteúdo Corrigido de todas as afirmativas. Foram revisadas as questões com porcentagem de concordância igual ou inferior a 80%. RESULTADOS: 13 avaliadores responderam a análise, todos do sexo feminino, com média de idade de 39,07 anos, sendo oito mestres e cinco doutoras, com atuação clínica generalista média de 15,38 anos. Os valores médios do Coeficiente de Validade de Conteúdo Corrigido foram 0,93 e 0,95 para o critério de clareza; 0,98 e 0,92 para o critério de pertinência; e 0,99 para o critério de ética. Duas questões apresentaram notas de 0,78 e 0,80, sendo ambas da área de audiologia no domínio de avaliação/diagnóstico, para a questão relacionada ao critério de pertinência, sendo revisadas e reestruturadas pelos juízes. CONCLUSÃO: O FonoTCS é um instrumento válido do ponto de vista do conteúdo.

[Taking origins into account in medical reasoning in infectious and tropical diseases? A critical look]. / Tenir compte des origines dans le raisonnement médical en maladies infectieuses et tropicales ? Un regard critique.

Healthcare discriminations based on one's ethnic background is increasingly being studied in medicine. The scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has played an important role in bringing them to light. Data, although scarce, exist in France. These discriminations have an impact on the care pathway and contribute to the renunciation of care by the most affected populations. The issue of discrimination is particularly relevant in infectious diseases. Although the epidemiology of infectious diseases is unevenly distributed worldwide, erroneous social representations are prevalent and expose to a harmful prejudice against migrants with regard to infectious diseases. The transmissible nature of some infectious diseases reinforces their stigmatizing potential. In this context, it seems important to discuss the dimension to be given to social determinants, geographical origin, phenotype, and ethnicity in teaching and medical reasoning. The English-speaking world uses the concept of "race" in a structural way, whereas this "international standard" has not been applied in France until now. To improve the care of people from minority groups, it seems important to better document and teach a more nuanced clinical reasoning based on origin, without neglecting the importance of collecting and taking into account social determinants of health and environmental factors.

Use of a clinical reasoning scaffolding document improves student performance.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical reasoning is an essential skill set for practicing pharmacists to possess. Given its complex nature, optimal pedagogies for teaching clinical reasoning are largely unknown. The use of scaffolding to expand a student's zone of proximal development and improve clinical reasoning performance was assessed in this study. METHODS: This prospective, observational cohort study of second professional year (P2) students compared performance of those who were exposed to a clinical reasoning scaffolding tool (CRST) to historic control P2 students (No CRST) on FARMR notes in alignment with the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process. Student performance was assessed using an entrustment-like scale for each of 5 sections (Findings, Assessment and goals, Recommendations, Monitoring, and Rationale) of the FARMR to link classroom and experiential education settings. RESULTS: In total, 141 CRST students from 28 groups were compared to 77 No CRST students from 13 groups. CRST students performed significantly higher in Assessment and goals of therapy, Recommendations, Monitoring, Rationale sections but no difference in Findings. CONCLUSIONS: Scaffolding has been utilized successfully in other health professions education. This study provides evidence of it successfully improving student pharmacist clinical reasoning skills, an essential ability for successful pharmacy practitioners.

Improving clinical reasoning and communication during handover: An intervention study of the BRIEF-C tool.

BACKGROUND: Existing handover communication tools often lack a clear theoretical foundation, have limited psychometric evidence, and overlook effective communication strategies for enhancing diagnostic reasoning. This oversight becomes critical as communication breakdowns during handovers have been implicated in poor patient care. To address these issues, we developed a structured communication tool: Background, Responsible diagnosis, Included differential diagnosis, Excluded differential diagnosis, Follow-up, and Communication (BRIEF-C). It is informed by cognitive bias theory, shows evidence of reliability and validity of its scores, and includes strategies for actively sending and receiving information in medical handovers. DESIGN: A pre-test post-test intervention study. SETTING: Inpatient internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery units at one tertiary care hospital. INTERVENTION: The BRIEF-C tool was presented to internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery faculty and residents who participated in an in-person educational session, followed by a 2-week period where they practised using it with feedback. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical handovers were audiorecorded over 1 week for the pre- and again for the post-periods, then transcribed for analysis. Two faculty raters from internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery scored the transcripts of handovers using the BRIEF-C framework. The two raters were blinded to the time periods. RESULTS: A principal component analysis identified two subscales on the BRIEF-C: diagnostic clinical reasoning and communication, with high interitem consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 and 0.99, respectively). One sample t-test indicated significant improvement in diagnostic clinical reasoning (pre-test: M=0.97, SD=0.50; post-test: M=1.31, SD=0.64; t(64)=4.26, p<0.05, medium to large Cohen's d=0.63) and communication (pre-test: M=0.02, SD=0.16; post-test: M=0.48, SD=0.83); t(64)=4.52, p<0.05, large Cohen's d=0.83). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates evidence supporting the reliability and validity of scores on the BRIEF-C as good indicators of diagnostic clinical reasoning and communication shared during handovers.