Developing Clinical Reasoning Skills as an Athletic Training Student

Clinical reasoning, a cornerstone for every athletic trainer, is a multifaceted skill that evolves through the medical education journey. In a recent study conducted at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands, researchers looked into the student perspective on learning clinical reasoning throughout a Master’s curriculum. Let’s the key findings and shed light on the nuanced process of clinical reasoning.

Understanding Clinical Reasoning:

Clinical reasoning involves an athletic trainer’s ability to gather, synthesize information, generate hypotheses, and formulate clinical decisions. While a standard definition exists, in clinical practice, it unfolds in complexity. Clinical reasoning can be categorized into three concepts: cognitive activity, contextually situated activity, and socially mediated activity.

The Learning Journey

The learning journey of clinical reasoning begins in the student phase, where formal training occurs. As students progress to clinical rotations, they apply and refine their acquired knowledge in real-world scenarios. The transition from theory to practice introduces uncertainties and variations, emphasizing the significance of workplace-based learning.