Understanding Clinical Reasoning and Critical Thinking
Oct 2, 2024
Clinical Reasoning vs. Critical Thinking
Introduction
Objective: Explore the concepts of clinical reasoning and critical thinking.
Relation: While related, they are not identical.
Clinical Reasoning
Definition: Used by therapists to make clinical decisions.
Challenges:
Can be uninformed, distorted, partial, biased, or lazy.
Critical for quality clinical practice.
Consequences of Poor Reasoning:
Costly in terms of money and quality of life.
Critical Thinking
Definition: Improves thinking quality by skillfully managing the structures in thinking and imposing intellectual standards.
Role in Clinical Reasoning:
Ensures reasoning is informed, comprehensive, and unbiased.
Helps examine the breadth, depth, and biases in thinking.
Characteristics:
Asking right questions.
Identifying relevant problems including patient factors like culture, history, and psychosocial factors.
Gathering relevant information and performing tests.
Analyzing movement and applying abstract ideas, theories, and frameworks.
Application
In Practice:
Collaborate with patients, caregivers, and other practitioners.
Consider alternative systems of thought and assess assumptions and implications.
Communicate effectively to solve complex problems.
Iterative Nature: Constantly evolve thinking with experience, while applying critical thinking standards.
Metacognition
Definition: Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.
Importance: Drives improvement in clinical reasoning.
Distinction in Terminology
Critical Thinking vs. Clinical Reasoning:
Clinical reasoning is specific to physical therapy with unique perspectives like patient-centered care and movement analysis.
Important to use clinical reasoning in context of patient-client management.
Further Learning
Resource: Visit the Clinical Reasoning and Curricula Assessment Consortium of the American Academy of Medicine and the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy for more information.