Does experience in general practice influence the clinical thinking of foundation trainees?

The aim of this exploratory study was to capture and identify changes in clinical thinking amongst foundation trainees after a four-month attachment in general practice, and to develop a means of analysing the data collected to inform understanding about how clinical thinking develops and changes for a trainee - the learner - in the context of clinical experience. We use the term 'clinical thinking' consistently throughout our paper to refer to the trainees' general thinking about a case, and do so in the same way as other academics. Through the innovative use of Mind Maps, we have sought to demonstrate whether there was a significant change in the themes and key features contained in maps drawn by foundation year 2 trainees before and after an attachment in general practice, and to locate the nature of the change if present. Being able to identify such change is potentially valuable as it can assist in revealing a trainee's learning needs and shape future learning.