The effect of short-term workshop on improving clinical reasoning skill of medical students

Abstract

Abstract
Background: Clinical reasoning process leads clinician to get purposeful steps from signs and symptoms toward
diagnosis and treatment. This research intends to investigate the effect of teaching clinical reasoning on
problem-solving skills of medical students.
Methods: This research is a semi-experimental study. Nineteen Medical student of the pediatric ward as case
group participated in a two-day workshop for training clinical reasoning. Before the workshop, they filled out
Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI) questionnaires. Fifteen days after the workshop the DTI questionnaire
completed and “key feature” (KF) test and “clinical reasoning problem” (CRP) test was held. 23 Medical student
as the control group, without passing the clinical reasoning workshop DTI questionnaire completed, and
KF test and CRP test was held.
Results: The average score of the DTI questionnaire in the control group was 162.04 and in the case group
before the workshop was 153.26 and after the workshop was 181.68. Compare the average score of the DTI
questionnaire before and after the workshop there is a significant difference. The difference between average KF
test scores in the control and the case group was not significant but between average CRP test scores was significant.
Conclusion: Clinical reasoning workshop is effectiveness in promoting problem-solving skills of students.
Keywords: Clinical reasoning, Student, Problem solving, Pediatric medicine.