About this course
The course introduces the clinical reasoning process as it is used by clinicians from different health disciplines: medicine, dentistry, nursing, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy. The course offers a step-by-step description and explanation of the process, illustrated with clinical examples. This course is of interest to both students and health professionals as they hone their knowledge and clinical reasoning skills.
The clinical reasoning process was analyzed and modeled by six clinicians from the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal together with a cognitive specialist. The result of this research was a model that was first published in the journal Medical Education in April 2012(1). The research itself forms the cornerstone of the course.
(1) Source : Charlin, B., Lubarsky, S., Millette, B., Crevier, F., Audétat, M.-C., Charbonneau, A., Caire Fon, N., Hoff, L. and Bourdy, C. (2012), Clinical reasoning processes: unravelling complexity through graphical representation. Medical Education, 46: 454–463. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2012.04242.x
This online course is designed to simplify a complex cognitive process in order to help learners understand and apply it and help educators support them.
Our course consists of seven modules
- "Real life" illustrates the clinical reasoning process from the point of view of a clinician representing each of the following disciplines: medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and nursing.
- "The simplified formal model" offers a symbolic representation of the process explained step by step and illustrated with clinical examples.
- "The formal model" is the cornerstone of this training; it is the product of an analysis of the reasoning of six clinicians. Published in 2012, the model takes the form of an interactive graphical representation. Module 3 provides a detailed reading of the formal model. By way of illustration, it is followed by a case study demonstrating each step in the process, thereby enabling the participant to engage in the experience of clinical reasoning as a whole.
- Collaboration, communication and scholarship are three intrinsic competencies used here as examples of how skills and abilities contribute to the clinical reasoning process. The first part provides clinical scenarios in which the clinician must mobilize intrinsic competencies to support their reasoning process. In the second part, a round table brings together clinical experts from five disciplines. Their discussions reveal the issues raised by these competencies in their respective practices.
- Experts in the field explain the specific "concepts" related to clinical reasoning. The presentations are in the form of informal exchanges between two of these experts.
- "Pitfalls" is an activity that highlights the challenges posed by clinical reasoning for the novice. Teaching suggestions are offered to learners and supervisors to facilitate navigation of more difficult sections.
- The "Experts' Toolbox" contains a set of invaluable resources and references as well as the latest news relating to clinical reasoning.
Good luck in the course
The MOOC-Clinical Reasoning Process teaching team
Design team
Scientific expertise
Principal concept developers:
Nathalie Caire Fon, Scientific Director
CCFP, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Stuart Lubarsky
MD, MHPE, Centre for Medical Education and Department of Neurology, McGill University
Marie-Claude Audétat
PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
MER-S, Emergency Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva
Marie-Eve Bertrand
B Pharm, Assistant Clinician, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal
Louise-Andrée Brien
MScN, Assistant Professor for Practicum, Faculty of Nursing, Université de Montréal
Anne Charbonneau
DDS, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Université de Montréal
Luc DesCôteaux
DVM, MSc, Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal
Johanne Goudreau
PhD N, Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Université de Montréal
Suzanne Laurin
MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Bernard Millette
MD, M ScM, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Partners
Christian Bourdy
MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Sébastien Buczinski
DVM, DÉS, MSc, DACVIM, Associate Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal
Bernard Charlin
MD, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Quoc Dinh Nguyen
MD, Geriatric resident, Université de Montréal
Félix Girard
DDS, MSc, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Université de Montréal
Mathieu Nendaz
MD, MEd, Professor, Medical Education Research and Development Unit (UDREM) University of Geneva, Switzerland
Chantal Pharand
PharmD, Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal
René Voyer
DDS, MSc, Associate Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Université de Montréal
Experts in technopedagogy
PhD, Technopedagogy and Cognition, Université de Montréal
Bernard Bérubé
MSc Technopedagogy, Services de soutien à l'enseignement, Université de Montréal
Production
Audiovisual Department
HEC Montréal
Cédric Joyal
BFA, Media Design, Services de soutien à l'enseignement, Université de Montréal
English Translation and Adaptation
Translation Integration and Supervision
Marie-Chantal Pelletier
M.A. candidate, Littératures francophones et résonances médiatiques, Concordia University
Pedagogical Counselor, Services de soutien à l'enseignement, Université de Montréal
Translation of course content
Victoria Robertson
C. Tr.
Teaching team under the supervision of:
Nathalie Caire Fon, Scientific Director
MD, CCFP, Assistant Professor and Scientific Director, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
Nathalie Caire Fon is a family physician at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (Geriatric Institute) and Assistant Professor in the Département de médecine de famille et médecine d’urgence (Emergency and Family Medicine) of the Faculty of Medicine at Université de Montréal. She has been involved in teaching for many years, from undergraduate education all the way to continuing professional development. In 2009, she became Director of Pedagogical Training at Université de Montréal's CPASS (Center for Pedagogy Applied to Health Sciences) and, in 2014, Academic Assistant to the Vice Dean of Undergraduate Studies.
She also takes part in implementation of the competency-based approach in the Faculty of Medicine, notably through her participation in the creation of a competency-based training framework. Moreover, Dr. Caire Fon is actively involved in research groups on clinical reasoning, more specifically in the areas of physicians’ clinical reasoning using modeling by typified objects, the difficulties of clinical reasoning, and the use of mind mapping to support the organizing of clinical knowledge.
Faculty team responsible for certification
Nathalie Caire Fon, Scientific Director
MD, CCFP, Assistant Professor and Scientific Director, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal
