Department of Medicine Publications
Towards Embracing Clinical Uncertainty: Lessons from Social Work, Optometry and Medicine
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2007
Journal
Journal of Social Work
Volume
7
Issue
2
First Page
155
Last Page
178
URL with Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468017307080282
Abstract
Summary: The oral transmission and transformation of client information in an apprenticeship setting provides a rich environment in which to observe students and their expert supervisors managing uncertainty. In this Canadian-based study, we examined the communicative features of 12 social work supervisions involving social work students and their supervisors and enriched our observations with subsequent interviews of the participants.
Findings: Social work students viewed the acknowledgement and examination of uncertainty as a touchstone of competent social work. This observation contrasted with our past study of medical and optometry students who focused on personal deficit and a distrust of acknowledging uncertainty. Our observations and interviews revealed a unique professional signature to the novice rhetoric of uncertainty (seeking guidance, deflecting criticism, owning limits, showing competence) that suggests differing professional identities and contextual settings.
Applications: An attitudinal shift toward accepting and trusting uncertainty in medicine and optometry may facilitate an enriched educational environment for students and a more open dialogue with patients about uncertainty. The unique professional signatures of this rhetoric offer insights into how professional identity shapes attitudes and behaviors toward uncertainty and suggest a source of tension within interdisciplinary healthcare teams.
Notes
Dr. Lorelei Lingard is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.