Measuring physicians' tolerance for ambiguity and its relationship to their reported practices regarding genetic...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychology
• Clinical Practice

Background:

• Physicians face significant uncertainty in medical practice.
• Limited research exists on physicians' tolerance for uncertainty.
• Existing measurement tools for tolerance for ambiguity (TFA) are insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a modified Tolerance for Ambiguity (TFA) scale for physicians.
• To examine the correlation between TFA and physician characteristics and behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A modified 18-item TFA scale was administered in a national survey.
• The survey included 1,759 physicians across various specialties (obstetrics, pediatrics, internal medicine, family practice, psychiatry).
• Psychometric analysis reduced the scale to 7 items with acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .75).

Main Results:

• Psychiatrists demonstrated higher TFA than other specialties.
• Older age at medical school graduation correlated with higher TFA.
• Willingness to offer new predictive genetic tests independently was associated with higher TFA.
• Higher importance of religious services, recommending pregnancy termination, and withholding negative genetic test results correlated with lower TFA.

Conclusions:

• The 7-item TFA scale is a reliable instrument for measuring physicians' tolerance for ambiguity.
• Physician specialty, age at graduation, and attitudes towards genetic testing influence TFA.
• Further research is needed to explore TFA modification and its impact on clinical practice in ambiguous medical areas.