Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Case-based clinical reasoning in feline medicine: 2: Managing cognitive error.
- Journal:
- Journal of feline medicine and surgery
- Year:
- 2016
- Authors:
- Canfield, Paul J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Faculty of Veterinary Science · Australia
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
This article is part of a series aimed at helping veterinarians improve their decision-making skills when diagnosing cats. It focuses on understanding how biases and faulty reasoning can affect their judgments. The goal is for vets to learn to trust their instincts while also putting measures in place to reduce errors in their thinking. This article builds on previous discussions about different ways of thinking and will be followed by another piece that looks at using mental shortcuts in diagnosis. Overall, the series is designed to enhance the quality of care for feline patients by improving how veterinarians think through cases.
Abstract
AIM: This is Article 2 of a three-part series on clinical reasoning that encourages practitioners to explore and understand how they think and make case-based decisions. It is hoped that, in the process, they will learn to trust their intuition but, at the same time, put in place safeguards to diminish the impact of bias and misguided logic on their diagnostic decision-making. SERIES OUTLINE: Article 1, published in the January 2016 issue of JFMS, discussed the relative merits and shortcomings of System 1 thinking (immediate and unconscious) and System 2 thinking (effortful and analytical). This second article examines ways of managing cognitive error, particularly the negative impact of bias, when making a diagnosis. Article 3, to appear in the May 2016 issue, explores the use of heuristics (mental short cuts) and illness scripts in diagnostic reasoning.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26936495/