scholarly journals Effect of Availability Bias and Reflective Reasoning on Diagnostic Accuracy Among Internal Medicine Residents

JAMA ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 304 (11) ◽  
pp. 1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sílvia Mamede ◽  
Tamara van Gog ◽  
Kees van den Berge ◽  
Remy M. J. P. Rikers ◽  
Jan L. C. M. van Saase ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Availability Bias ◽  
Internal Medicine Residents ◽  
Reflective Reasoning

scholarly journals The relationship between time to diagnose and diagnostic accuracy among internal medicine residents: a randomized experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Staal ◽  
J. Alsma ◽  
S. Mamede ◽  
A. P. J. Olson ◽  
G. Prins-van Gilst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Correct Diagnosis ◽  
Diagnostic Errors ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Availability Bias ◽  
Internal Medicine Residents ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background Diagnostic errors have been attributed to cognitive biases (reasoning shortcuts), which are thought to result from fast reasoning. Suggested solutions include slowing down the reasoning process. However, slower reasoning is not necessarily more accurate than faster reasoning. In this study, we studied the relationship between time to diagnose and diagnostic accuracy. Methods We conducted a multi-center within-subjects experiment where we prospectively induced availability bias (using Mamede et al.’s methodology) in 117 internal medicine residents. Subsequently, residents diagnosed cases that resembled those bias cases but had another correct diagnosis. We determined whether residents were correct, incorrect due to bias (i.e. they provided the diagnosis induced by availability bias) or due to other causes (i.e. they provided another incorrect diagnosis) and compared time to diagnose. Results We did not successfully induce bias: no significant effect of availability bias was found. Therefore, we compared correct diagnoses to all incorrect diagnoses. Residents reached correct diagnoses faster than incorrect diagnoses (115 s vs. 129 s, p < .001). Exploratory analyses of cases where bias was induced showed a trend of time to diagnose for bias diagnoses to be more similar to correct diagnoses (115 s vs 115 s, p = .971) than to other errors (115 s vs 136 s, p = .082). Conclusions We showed that correct diagnoses were made faster than incorrect diagnoses, even within subjects. Errors due to availability bias may be different: exploratory analyses suggest a trend that biased cases were diagnosed faster than incorrect diagnoses. The hypothesis that fast reasoning leads to diagnostic errors should be revisited, but more research into the characteristics of cognitive biases is important because they may be different from other causes of diagnostic errors.

Critical Care Communication Skills Training for Internal Medicine Residents

MedEdPORTAL ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Rock ◽  
Nina Gadmer ◽  
Robert Arnold ◽  
David Roberts ◽  
Asha Anandaiah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Communication Skills Training ◽  
Internal Medicine Residents

Learning Electrocardiogram Interpretation: Insights from Residents and a Proposed Solution in an Observational Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alakchar ◽  
Abdisamad M. Ibrahim ◽  
Mohsin Salih ◽  
Mukul Bhattarai ◽  
Nitin Tandan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Resident Attitudes ◽  
Internal Medicine Residents ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Degree Of Participation ◽  
Electrocardiogram Interpretation

BACKGROUND Interpretation of electrocardiograms (EKG) is an essential tool for every physician. Despite this, the diagnosis of life-threatening pathology on EKG remains suboptimal in trainees. The purpose of this study is to study resident attitudes and behaviours towards EKGs, and describe an innovative way to teach EKGs. OBJECTIVE Study attitudes and behaviours towards EKGs. Describe an innovative way to teach EKGs. METHODS Design: An observational cross-sectional study through an anonymous online survey of resident attitudes and comfort with EKG interpretation. This was followed by creation of a WhatsApp group for discussion and interpretation of EKGs with peers. At the end of the day, the official EKG interpretation was posted. Setting: Internal medicine residency at Southern Illinois University. Participants: Internal medicine residents Interventions: Creation of WhatsApp group to aid with EKG interpretation Measurements: A 17 item questionnaire, followed by detection of degree of participation in a WhatsApp group. RESULTS Forty-one out of 63 residents (65%) completed the survey. 85% of respondents thought that an interactive way to teach EKGs is the best method of teaching, and 73% did not feel confident interpreting EKGs. 30% often rely on automated EKG interpretation. Further analysis indicated that PGY-1 residents reported ordering fewer EKGs (correlation coefficient -0.399, p = 0.012) and were uncomfortable diagnosing QT prolongation on an EKG (correlation coefficient -0.310, p = 0.049). Residents in the third or greater year of training ordered more EKGs (correlation coefficient 0.379, p = 0.015), less frequently relied on the computer for EKG diagnosis (correlation coefficient 0.399, p = 0.010), and were comfortable diagnosing an acute myocardial infarction and atrial arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, most IM trainees do not feel comfortable interpreting EKG, however, this does improve with PGY year. WhatsApp is a possible platform for teaching EKGs.

Drug Alert Experience and Salience during Medical Residency at Two Healthcare Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 355-361
Author(s):  
Kinjal Gadhiya ◽  
Edgar Zamora ◽  
Salim M. Saiyed ◽  
David Friedlander ◽  
David C. Kaelber
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Residency Training ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Internal Medicine Resident ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Teaching Hospitals ◽  
Medicine Resident ◽  
Internal Medicine Residents ◽  
The University

Abstract Background Drug alerts are clinical decision support tools intended to prevent medication misadministration. In teaching hospitals, residents encounter the majority of the drug alerts while learning under variable workloads and responsibilities that may have an impact on drug-alert response rates. Objectives This study was aimed to explore drug-alert experience and salience among postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1), postgraduate year 2 (PGY-2), and postgraduate year 3 (PGY-3) internal medicine resident physicians at two different institutions. Methods Drug-alert information was queried from the electronic health record (EHR) for 47 internal medicine residents at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPMC) Pinnacle in Pennsylvania, and 79 internal medicine residents at the MetroHealth System (MHS) in Ohio from December 2018 through February 2019. Salience was defined as the percentage of drug alerts resulting in removal or modification of the triggering order. Comparisons were made across institutions, residency training year, and alert burden. Results A total of 126 residents were exposed to 52,624 alerts over a 3-month period. UPMC Pinnacle had 15,574 alerts with 47 residents and MHS had 37,050 alerts with 79 residents. At MHS, salience was 8.6% which was lower than UPMC Pinnacle with 15%. The relatively lower salience (42% lower) at MHS corresponded to a greater number of alerts-per-resident (41% higher) compared with UPMC Pinnacle. Overall, salience was 11.6% for PGY-1, 10.5% for PGY-2, and 8.9% for PGY-3 residents. Conclusion Our results are suggestive of long-term drug-alert desensitization during progressive residency training. A higher number of alerts-per-resident correlating with a lower salience suggests alert fatigue; however, other factors should also be considered including differences in workload and culture.

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