Medical problem-solving: an exploration of strategies

In contrast to factual knowledge the reasoning processes of doctors in their attempts to clarify the patient's problem has been a somewhat neglected domain of study. The rise of experimental psychology, clinical decision analysis, and problem-based learning fostered studies in this area. Several studies from different viewpoints have been performed, leading to a more profound understanding of these processes. I approached the issue from a general physician viewpoint which reverted to the old distinction between deductive and inductive reasoning. Within a group of 68 participating doctors (family doctors and general physicians) the inductive method was exclusively employed. From this finding we conjecture that the inductive type of reasoning is the predominant style in the medical world. The consequences as attached to the overall utilization of the inductive method are far-reaching. Among others, process retracing as a feedback mechanism fails to function when it results from the intuitive nature of the (pattern-recognition) process. As a consequence we do not and can not know what we may learn from experience, good things as well as bad things. The inductive method is a method of practice and quick reaction, but it leaves us empty-handed as far as understanding and teaching are concerned.