Clinical Decision Making

Question 1

What is Clinical reasoning?

Answer 1

Process by which veterinary surgeons integrate a multitude of clinical and contextual factors to make decisions about:
○ Diagnoses
○ Treatment
○ Prognoses
Thinking and decision-making process associated with clinical practice

Question 2

What are the types of clinical reasoning?

Answer 2

• Type 1 - Pattern recognition
• Type 2 - Problem-based clinical reasoning
  Often used in combination

Question 3

What is Type 1 clinical reasoning?

Answer 3

Pattern recognition
Unconscious, not active thinking
Fast
Relies on experience
Sources of error - Cognitive biases and emotional influence

Question 4

What is Type 2 clinical reasoning?

Answer 4

Problem-based (inductive)
Relies on working memory
Slow, analytical
Sources of error - memory overload, lack or knowledge

Question 5

What is the process of Problem-based clinical reasoning?

Answer 5

1 - What is the problem?
2 - Which body system is involved and how?
3 - Where in the body system is the problem?
4 - What is the lesion?

Question 6

How and why do we differentiate between primary and secondary problems?

Answer 6

History
Clinical exam
Further tests
To save clients time and money

Question 7

What is a primary problem?

Answer 7

Structural problem
E.g. infection, neoplasia

Question 8

What is a secondary problem?

Answer 8

Functional problem
Body system is affected by other factors
E.g. renal, pancreatic or liver failure

Question 9

DAMNIT-V

Answer 9

Degenerative
Anomalous
Metabolic
Neoplastic/Nutrition
Idopathic/Inflammation
Toxic/Traumatic
Vascular (affects blood vessels)