Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Understanding clinical reasoning: A phenomenographic study with entry-level physiotherapy students
Madeleine Abrandt Dahlgren1, Karin Valeskog2, Kajsa Johansson2
1Department of Medicine, Health and Caring Sciences, Medical Education, Linköping University, Linköping, SE, Sweden.
Introduction:
Entry-level students' conceptualizations of clinical reasoning can provide a starting point for program planning related to clinical reasoning development with a focus on patient-centered care.
Objective:
The aim of the study is to explore how physiotherapy students understand clinical reasoning midway through their education. Nine physiotherapy students were interviewed at the end of their third semester.
Methods:
Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed verbatim. A phenomenographic approach to qualitative data analysis, seeking to explore variations in students' conceptions was applied.
Results:
The students' ways of understanding clinical reasoning could be described as: 1) the cognitive process of the physiotherapist; and 2) the relational process of the collaborative partnership between the physiotherapist and the patient. A contrastive analysis shows how the cognitive and relational perspectives are developed through the relationships among three dimensions of clinical reasoning: 1) problem-solving; 2) context of working; and 3) own learning.
Conclusion:
By identifying the critical variation in students' conceptions of clinical reasoning, focus can be placed on pedagogical arrangements to facilitate students' progression toward a person-centered approach.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Patient-centered Care
Methods of Documentation III: PIE
Case Studies
Critical Thinking II
Critical Thinking I
Nursing Process for Patient and Caregiver Teaching I: Assessment and Diagnosis
It is critical to determine the patient's learning needs during the assessment. Determination of learning needs compounds data...

