title: Intuition in medical practice: A reflection on Donald Schön's reflective practitioner.
abstract: In a recent commentary, Dr. Abhishek Biswas asks the question whether physicians should rely on their "gut feeling" when making clinical decisions. Biswas describes a situation where his intuition resulted in an immediate course of action that prompted urgent medical attention for a patient who had "routine" pain. Inspired by the author's account, I would like to further Biswas' discussion and examine its importance using the educational theories of Donald Schön and his concept of the reflective practitioner. Schön argues that technical knowledge alone is not sufficient to solve the complex problems that professionals face on a daily basis and intuition, developed through a reflective practice, is crucial for any professional's practice, especially in a time of greater uncertainty in the workplace.
authors.affiliation: a Ontario Institute for Studies in Education , Canada.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mickleborough
mesh_terms: D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making; D006801:Humans; D019545:Intuition; D019359:Knowledge; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D059408:Pain Management