An Introduction to Medical Decision-Making: Practical Insights and Approaches

Description

This volume presents novel concepts to help physicians and health care providers better understand the thought processes and approaches used in clinical decision-making and how we develop those skills as we transition from being a medical student to post-graduate trainee to independent practitioner. Approaches presented range from simple rules of thumb, pattern recognition, and heuristics, to more formulaic methods such as standard operating procedures, checklists, evidence-based medicine, mathematical modeling, and statistics. Ways to recognize and manage errors and how our decision-making can be improved, are also discussed. An Introduction to Medical Decision-Making presents several innovative techniques to allow the reader to use the principles presented and integrate the ethical, humanistic and social aspects of decision-making with the pragmatic and knowledge-based aspects of clinical medicine. It also highlights how our thinking processes, emotions, and biases affect decision-making. This invaluable resource will allow students and physicians to evaluate and critically discuss their decisions objectively to become more efficient and effective, and maximize the quality of care they provide. Front Matter ....Pages i-xviii Thinking About Thinking (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 1-18 Ways of Thinking (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 19-36 Problem-Solving and Decision-Making (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 37-42 The Decision-Making Cycle (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 43-49 The Elements of Medical Decision-Making (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 51-61 Information: Gathering, Storing, and Retrieval (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 63-74 Mind-Mapping (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 75-85 The Processes of Decision-Making and Problem-Solving (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 87-95 Towards a Unified Approach (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 97-119 Decision-Making by Recognition (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 121-144 Transitional Models (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 145-150 Decision-Making by Elimination (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 151-163 Managing Errors (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 165-171 Decision-Making Styles and Specialty Choice (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 173-181 Conclusions (Jonathan S. Vordermark II)....Pages 183-185 Back Matter ....Pages 187-199