Understanding others: a course to learn interactive clinical reasoning

SUMMARY Teaching future practitioners to use clinical reasoning processes is necessary for entry-level practice. While there are numerous articles addressing some aspects of clinical reasoning, none describe a course solely focused on understanding another person's perspective-interactive clinical reasoning. The article describes an Interactive Clinical Reasoning course for entry-level graduate students-one of four seminars on clinical reasoning embedded in a curriculum that simultaneously uses an infusion model to increase cultural awareness and sensitivity. The underlying philosophy of the course includes using interpersonal intelligence (Gardner, 1985) to "treat a patient's illness experience" (Mattingly, 1992, p. 4). Clients are the experts of their own experience with illness or disability, and students must pay as much attention to their questions and their own reactions as to their interviewee's responses. Readings, videotapes, assignments, and class exercises designed to increase students' interviewing skills and their ability to understand each client's perspective are described.