Thinking Slow More Quickly: Development of Integrated Illness Scripts to Support Cognitively Integrated Learning and Improve Clinical Decision-Making

Leslie H Fall,Jacqueline Hembrook-Short,Tracy B Fulton,Robin English,David M Harris,Amy Wilson-Delfosse,Khiet Ngo,James Nixon

doi:10.1007/s40670-021-01293-z

Abstract

Illness scripts describe the mental model used by experienced clinicians to store and recall condition-specific knowledge when making clinical decisions. Studies demonstrate that novice clinicians struggle to develop and apply strong illness scripts. We developed the Integrated Illness Script and Mechanism of Disease (IIS-MOD) map framework to address this challenge.

Highlights

The term “illness script” describes the mental model by which a clinician organizes, stores, and retrieves from longterm memory key concepts and their relationships to clinical problems [1]
The problem is further compounded by the difficulty basic science and clinical faculty face in “unpacking” their own deeply interconnected and encapsulated knowledge while teaching and collaborating [1]
We developed the model of an Integrated Illness Script (IIS) and related Mechanism of Disease (MOD) map to address these challenges and accelerate the development and effective use of scripts by faculty and learners (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

The term “illness script” describes the mental model by which a clinician organizes, stores, and retrieves from longterm memory key concepts and their relationships to clinical problems (i.e., diseases, conditions, or syndromes) [1]. Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Baton Rouge, USA University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, USA University of Central Florida School of Medicine, Orlando, USA

Results

Conclusion