Diagnostic ability of medical students in relation to their learning characteristics and preclinical background

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 in detecting subtle influences on diagnostic ability differentiation in medical students.