Sociocultural learning in emergency medicine: a holistic examination of competence

Objectives In the medical community of practice, the resident is situated in systems of professional and cultural activities. How diagnostic competence manifests in their sociocultural context is examined through situativity and systems theories. A holistic model is proposed that could examine diagnostic competence across micro (individual), meso (activity), and macro (cultural) systems. Methods Two short scenarios are presented resulting from observations of emergency medicine residents and their supervising physicians. These scenarios are analyzed using a trans-theoretical model of situativity and systems theories to understand how diagnostic competence manifests in practice (activity system). Results Assessment of diagnostic competence in a sociocultural context may require assessment of responses to contextual factors that seem immaterial to clinical reasoning. This information may signal that the resident also has the skills to identify appropriate information channels within an activity system and can accurately collect and prioritize clinical information within those channels. Therefore, the formal assessment of competent clinical reasoning performance, as a situated practice, may benefit from delineating how much of the context of an activity system is required to be competently managed and synthesized across the competency milestones. Conclusions The examination of diagnostic competence as a sociocultural practice can provide a unique and holistic examination of clinical reasoning performance and assessment.