Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
05:04
Author Spotlight: Evaluating Clinicians' Adoption of Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Cannulation Through Simulation Training
Published on: August 9, 2024
986
Navigating Uncertainty in Clinical Practice: A Workshop to Prepare Medical Students to Problem-Solve During Complex
Frances Rusnack1,2, Dimitrios Papanagnou3,2, Kestrel Reopelle1,2
1Clinical Instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University.
Mededportal : the Journal of Teaching and Learning Resources
|August 11, 2023
Summary
Medical students learned to navigate clinical uncertainty using a new taxonomy and framework. This virtual workshop improved their problem-solving skills and changed their perspectives on managing uncertainty in healthcare.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Health Professions Education
- Clinical Reasoning
Background:
- Medical training often focuses on diagnostic uncertainty, neglecting other types students encounter.
- A comprehensive approach is needed to equip students with tools for various uncertainties in clinical practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a virtual workshop for third-year medical students.
- To introduce a taxonomy and framework for categorizing and navigating clinical uncertainty.
- To enhance students' ability to problem-solve within complex health systems.
Main Methods:
- A virtual workshop combining didactic sessions and immersive case studies was designed.
- Third-year medical students applied a novel framework and uncertainty taxonomy during simulated clinical challenges.
- Data were collected via anonymous post-session surveys.
Main Results:
- 64% of students found the workshop useful; 47% found the framework helpful for appraising uncertainty.
- 66% reported a change in their perspective on uncertainty after the session.
- Students effectively integrated health systems science knowledge into their problem-solving strategies.
Conclusions:
- The session offers a novel, practical framework and taxonomy for medical students to classify and manage uncertainty.
- This virtual, interactive activity is a low-cost, implementable educational tool for other institutions.
- The approach aids students in making sense of uncertainty and determining actions in complex healthcare settings.
Related Concept Videos
00:59Uncertainty: Overview
597
In analytical chemistry, we often perform repetitive measurements to detect and minimize inaccuracies caused by both determinate and indeterminate errors. Despite the cares we take, the presence of random errors means that repeated measurements almost never have exactly the same magnitude. The collective difference between these measurements - observed values - and the estimated or expected value is called uncertainty. Uncertainty is conventionally written after the estimated or expected value.
597
00:59Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error
726
An experiment often consists of more than a single step. In this case, measurements at each step give rise to uncertainty. Because the measurements occur in successive steps, the uncertainty in one step necessarily contributes to that in the subsequent step. As we perform statistical analysis on these types of experiments, we must learn to account for the propagation of uncertainty from one step to the next. The propagation of uncertainty depends on the type of arithmetic operation performed on...
726
00:54Uncertainty: Confidence Intervals
4.1K
The confidence interval is the range of values around the mean that contains the true mean. It is expressed as a probability percentage. The interpretation of a 95% confidence interval, for instance, is that the statistician is 95% confident that the true mean falls within the interval. The upper and lower limits of this range are known as confidence limits. The confidence limits for the true mean are estimated from the sample's mean, the standard deviation, and the statistical factor...
4.1K
03:37Uncertainty in Measurement: Accuracy and Precision
73.9K
Scientists typically make repeated measurements of a quantity to ensure the quality of their findings and to evaluate both the precision and the accuracy of their results. Measurements are said to be precise if they yield very similar results when repeated in the same manner. A measurement is considered accurate if it yields a result that is very close to the true or the accepted value. Precise values agree with each other; accurate values agree with a true value.
73.9K
01:10Propagation of Uncertainty from Systematic Error
554
The atomic mass of an element varies due to the relative ratio of its isotopes. A sample's relative proportion of oxygen isotopes influences its average atomic mass. For instance, if we were to measure the atomic mass of oxygen from a sample, the mass would be a weighted average of the isotopic masses of oxygen in that sample. Since a single sample is not likely to perfectly reflect the true atomic mass of oxygen for all the molecules of oxygen on Earth, the mass we obtain from this...
554
01:30Ethical Dilemmas II
1.1K
Resolving an ethical dilemma in healthcare involves a systematic approach that considers every aspect of the issue, respecting both the patient's needs and values and the healthcare professional's ethical obligations. Here are potential steps to resolve an ethical dilemma:
1.1K