Can Think Aloud Be Used to Teach and Assess Clinical Reasoning in Graduate Medical Education?

Abstract

[Extract] Clinical reasoning may be defined as the cognitive processes involved in arriving at a diagnosis or treatment plan. It is central to effective medical practice, yet it remains elusive and continues to present a challenge to clinical teachers and learners. The antemortem misdiagnosis rate at autopsies and audits of adverse events in hospitals attest to the continuing importance of clinical reasoning, despite the introduction of guidelines and advances in technology. The level of quality and accuracy of the clinical reasoning that underlies diagnostic and management decisions is the difference between trainees and expert clinicians. The process of learning clinical reasoning may be assisted by using think aloud.