Event Title
Clinical Reasoning: A Multi‐task Taxonomy
Start Date
5-10-2011 12:00 PM
End Date
5-10-2011 1:00 PM
Abstract
Background
While medical reasoning research has the potential to influence clinical and teaching practice, to date, its impact has been limited by a nearly exclusive focus on diagnosis. To begin setting a new agenda for research in this field, the purpose of this study was to develop a taxonomy of reasoning tasks that a physician engages in during a clinical encounter.
Methods
A purposeful sample of 46 international researchers in the field participated in a two‐phase, modified online Delphi in order to develop consensus on a list of reasoning tasks.
Summary of Results
Thirty participants responded (65%); 66% were physicians and 38% had doctoral degrees. As a result of the Delphi, 24 reasoning tasks were identified and organized into four broad categories: 1) Problem identification and agenda setting, 2) Diagnostic tasks, 3) Management tasks, and 4) Self‐assessment tasks. Examples of each include: Identify active issues; identify modifiable risk factors; determine the impact of co‐morbid illness on management; identify knowledge gaps.
Conclusions
The identification this taxonomy represents a first step in broadening the research agenda to embrace this list of tasks and their interactions. Results can be used to inspire new research questions such as “how do different levels of performers deal with task switching and multi‐tasking during an encounter”?
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Clinical Reasoning: A Multi‐task Taxonomy
Background
While medical reasoning research has the potential to influence clinical and teaching practice, to date, its impact has been limited by a nearly exclusive focus on diagnosis. To begin setting a new agenda for research in this field, the purpose of this study was to develop a taxonomy of reasoning tasks that a physician engages in during a clinical encounter.
Methods
A purposeful sample of 46 international researchers in the field participated in a two‐phase, modified online Delphi in order to develop consensus on a list of reasoning tasks.
Summary of Results
Thirty participants responded (65%); 66% were physicians and 38% had doctoral degrees. As a result of the Delphi, 24 reasoning tasks were identified and organized into four broad categories: 1) Problem identification and agenda setting, 2) Diagnostic tasks, 3) Management tasks, and 4) Self‐assessment tasks. Examples of each include: Identify active issues; identify modifiable risk factors; determine the impact of co‐morbid illness on management; identify knowledge gaps.
Conclusions
The identification this taxonomy represents a first step in broadening the research agenda to embrace this list of tasks and their interactions. Results can be used to inspire new research questions such as “how do different levels of performers deal with task switching and multi‐tasking during an encounter”?