Clinical reasoning skills in final-year dental students: A qualitative cross-curricula comparison.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions of undergraduate dental students regarding clinical reasoning skills and also discover the influences of different curriculum designs on the acquisition of these skills by students.


METHODS
Eighteen final-year students from three different dental schools with varied curricula and cultures participated in the current research. The research used qualitative methodology. The study took place in 2013-2014. Interviews captured the participants' own understanding of clinical reasoning and its acquisition plus they "talked through" a clinical problem using a "think-aloud" technique. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts of the recorded interviews. Results obtained were related to curriculum structure.


RESULTS
Unfamiliarity with the term clinical reasoning was common in students. Students from different schools used different strategies to reason when discussing clinical vignettes. Clinical reasoning process was dominated by pattern recognition. Students' behaviours seemed to be influenced by cultural factors.


CONCLUSIONS
This research contributes to a greater understanding of how students learn, understand and apply dental clinical reasoning which will improve educational practices in the future.
Medical Education in the Dental School, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
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http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6942-5603
ET
Nafea
Medical Education in the School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
R
R
Dennick
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D011340:Problem Solving; D012575:Schools, Dental; D013335:Students, Dental
clinical reasoning; dental curriculum; dental education; problem-solving