Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

What is clinical reasoning?

¹Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago 06012.

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy : Official Publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association

|November 1, 1991

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Association Between Observed Climate Change and Cardiovascular Disease in the United States.

GeoHealth·2026

Same author

Perinatal Nicotine Exposure Disrupts Hematopoietic Stem Cell Development and Elevates Influenza Susceptibility in Adulthood.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

Characterization of a newly established human pancreatic carcinoma cell line, UK Pan-1.

Cancer·2000

Same author

Diverse rationalities and multiple realities in illness and healing.

Medical anthropology quarterly·1998

Same author

In search of the good: narrative reasoning in clinical practice.

Medical anthropology quarterly·1998

Same author

Metaphor and meaning in a clinical interview.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·1996

Same journal

Occupation-Centered Interventions to Enhance Participation in Everyday Activities for Refugee Children: A Systematic Review.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·2026

Same journal

Discordance Between Self-Report and Performance-Based Measures Among At-Risk Older Adults: A Secondary Data Analysis.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·2026

Same journal

Clinician Scientists in Occupational Therapy: Bridging the Knowledge-to-Practice Gap.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·2026

Same journal

Feedback on the Speed Track: Feasibility of Clinician-Delivered Ride-On-Toy Navigation Training for Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·2026

Same journal

Rater Reliability and Responsiveness of GOT-Cog™, a Novel Occupational Therapy Cognitive Screen.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·2026

Same journal

Integrating Stakeholder Voices to Improve Occupational Therapy Research for Minoritized Autistic Hispanic and Latino Communities.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association·2026

See all related articles

This study redefines clinical reasoning in occupational therapy as a tacit, imagistic, and phenomenological process. It emphasizes experience and improvisation over explicit justification and scientific theory alone.

Area of Science:

Occupational Therapy
Health Professions Education
Philosophy of Science

Background:

Traditional definitions of clinical reasoning often focus on explicit justification and scientific theory.
Occupational therapy practice involves complex patient situations requiring more than procedural knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a novel concept of clinical reasoning in occupational therapy.
To highlight the tacit, imagistic, and phenomenological aspects of clinical reasoning.
To differentiate this concept from traditional health professions' definitions.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of clinical reasoning in occupational therapy.
Exploration of phenomenological and tacit knowledge in clinical practice.

Related Experiment Videos

Comparison with traditional scientific and explicit reasoning models.

Main Results:

Clinical reasoning is presented as a largely tacit, imagistic, and phenomenological mode of thinking.
It encompasses habitual knowledge gained through experience, beyond explicit justification.
Effective clinical reasoning requires improvisation to address the unique meaning of disability for each patient.

Conclusions:

Clinical reasoning in occupational therapy transcends simple theory application and explicit rationalization.
Tacit understanding and experiential knowledge are crucial components of expert clinical reasoning.
A phenomenological approach better captures the nuanced nature of clinical decision-making in occupational therapy.