Abstract

PEIXOTO, José Maria; SANTOS, Silvana Maria Elói  and  FARIA, Rosa Malena Delbone de. Clinical Reasoning Development in Medical Students. Rev. Bras. Educ. Med. [online]. 2018, vol.42, n.1, pp.75-83. ISSN 1981-5271.  https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-52712015v41n4RB20160079.

Clinical reasoning refers to the cognitive process by which the physician is able to provide a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment for a clinical problem. Despite the great medical knowledge evolution over the time, clinical practice is still very dependent on professional ability to make a correct diagnosis. Studies have shown that diagnostic errors are an important source of preventable diseases and death, promoting clinical and financial damage to patients, families and nation. Medical schools and teachers face the challenge of promoting the development of this competence in medical students as it is one of the greatest attributes to be developed during medical school. In the last three decades, the processes involved in learning and developing clinical reasoning have been studied and now much is known about the stages involved in the formation of this important skill. Theories and cognitive studies on memory building and function can be found in several areas of knowledge, however, little information exists with a discussion focused on medical education. The aim of this work is present a review of the main theories and researches on clinical reasoning, providing teachers with a comprehensive review that allows understanding this fascinating medical education area. It is hoped, to offer a contribution on medical education, providing medical teachers with technical material for planning their instructional strategies guided by clinical reasoning learning principles and stimulate research on medical education. To favor comprehension, the theories will be presented by topics, however, since clinical reasoning is a complex cognitive activity, it is important remember that the information proposed in each topic have factors that overlap and often occur simultaneously.

Keywords : Medical education; Learning; Clinical diagnosis; Medical students.

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