Why we teach clinical skills

Clinical reasoning is an essential component of any medical professional’s education and training and involves the cognitive process of integrating patient-specific data, prior knowledge, and evidence-based practice guidelines in order to effectively diagnose and treat patients (Cook et al., 2020). There are several different types of reasoning which clinicians use depending on the situation they are presented with. The first type is analytical reasoning which involves breaking down a problem into smaller parts in order to identify cause and effect relationships (Hammond & Houser, 2017). This type of reasoning lends itself well to clinical decision making where doctors must consider various risk factors associated with each potential diagnosis before committing to a course of action. The second type is known as abductive reasoning which entails drawing broad conclusions from multiple sources of information that ultimately leads to a specific hypothesis or conclusion (Tversky & Kahneman 1974). An example would be combining physical examination findings with lab results in order to narrow down possible causes for a patient’s symptoms. When it comes to teaching clinical reasoning there are two primary approaches: direct instruction or self-directed learning. Direct instruction focuses on providing learners with structured problem solving scenarios designed specifically for practicing the application of knowledge learned through lecture or reading assignments while self-directed learning places more emphasis on independent exploration through case studies or simulations (Solberg et al., 2019). Assessment methods vary but generally involve giving learners tasks such as exams where they have provide thoughtful answers illustrating their understanding rather than simply memorizing facts. In conclusion , clinical reasoning plays an important role in healthcare settings by helping professionals make sound decisions when treating patients . Through this paper , I have discussed the various types – such as analytical and abductive – along with instructional strategies like direct instruction or self-directed learning ; further discussion regarding assessment methods has also been provided.