Clinical Reasoning Workshop: Cervical Spine and Shoulder Disorders

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cognitive Science in Medicine
• Clinical Reasoning

Background:

• Cognitive factors and information processing contribute to physician diagnostic errors.
• Dual processing theory in clinical reasoning is established but requires practical application for trainees.
• Effective clinical reasoning training is crucial for reducing errors and enhancing patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a workshop designed to teach residents to switch between automatic and reflective information processing modes.
• To determine if this training improves diagnostic decision-making skills.
• To evaluate resident satisfaction and perceived improvement in clinical problem-solving abilities.

Main Methods:

• A workshop utilizing musculoskeletal vignettes to practice dual processing (automatic and reflective modes).
• Implementation involved 26 physical medicine and rehabilitation residents with pre- and posttests.
• Included small-group learning, case-based scenarios, and gamification elements.

Main Results:

• Residents showed significant improvement in posttest scores compared to pretest scores.
• Online evaluations indicated high resident satisfaction with the workshop.
• Residents perceived an improvement in their diagnostic abilities after participation.

Conclusions:

• The workshop effectively engaged residents by integrating dual processing theory, case-based learning, and gamification.
• High resident satisfaction and perceived enhancement of diagnostic skills were observed.
• The training model proved effective with moderate faculty time investment after initial setup.