COmputer-Assisted Learning: Evaluation of a medical diagnostic reasoning program

Clinical (diagnostic) reasoning is inherently a problem-solving activity in which the practitioner's efficiency and effectiveness are strongly dependent on an ability to access and manipulate a vast knowledge base. In real patient interactions, students must gather, analyse and synthesize information; generate hypotheses; and make decisions (e.g. diagnosis and treatment). To develop skills in problem solving it is argued that students need to be provided with more tools rather than more answers.1