Twelve tips for teaching expertise in clinical reasoning.

BACKGROUND

Clinical reasoning is one of the most critical skills to teach to medical learners, yet clinician educators rarely receive adequate training on how to teach this topic.

AIMS

To enhance clinician educators' ability to teach clinical reasoning.

METHODS

I conducted a review of cognitive, medical decision making, and expertise theory literature to develop practical tips that could be applied to typical teaching encounters.

RESULTS

Through the literature review, twelve tips were designed to provide a blueprint for teaching clinical reasoning on the wards or in the clinics.

CONCLUSIONS

Teaching clinical reasoning is important and feasible. Teachers who explicitly teach problem solving and decision making may help learners to improve their diagnostic accuracy and treatment choices.