Explorations of Diagnostic Reasoning (virtual)

Catalog description

This one-week elective will explore decision making theories as utilized in the medical diagnostic process. Foundational readings will include "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman, PhD which reviews the Nobel Prize winning research he conducted along with Amos Tversky, PhD, in the subject of behavioral economics. Students will then read "How Doctors Think" by Jerome Groopman, MD, which will discuss how our cognitive biases affect medical decision making. These readings will explore our many unconscious errors in reasoning, the development of "prospect theory" and behavioral economics, how we understand the concept of happiness, and how the quality of the doctor patient relationship can affect diagnosis and care provided. Students will complete a guided reflection on the readings and then apply the knowledge gained through their reading and refection as they complete all cases in the Aquifer Diagnostic Excellence Series.