title: Diagnostic ability of medical students in relation to their learning characteristics and preclinical background.
abstract: Is the diagnostic ability of medical students--as appraised by the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI) --influenced by the learners' characteristics, or the way they acquired basic knowledge? This question was explored in a 4-year consecutive sampling of clinical clerkship students. DTI inventory scores (flexibility in thinking and structure in memory), learners' characteristics (learning style, self-confidence as a learner, and motivation to learn), together with knowledge scores (grade-point) average and problem-solving test) were measured and analysed for their relationships and the differences between groups. Results revealed that higher scores of the DTI measures were associated with students' high self-confidence, high motivation to learn, and abstract learning types. Correlation coefficients showed significant relationships between the DTI scores and both knowledge measures. In addition, t-tests showed that students with an integrated teaching background and problem-based learning (PBL) experience obtained significantly higher scores for structure in memory. The findings suggest that the inventory scores are sensitive to both cognitive and non-cognitive factors. The inventory may be useful detecting subtle influences on diagnostic ability differentiation in medical students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Brasilia, Brazil.
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Sobral
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003933:Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*