Department of Internal Medicine

Medicine 2 Lecture: Deductive Reasoning in Clinical Medicine

Session Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the student must be able to accomplish the
following:
1. Differentiate between Inductive and Deductive Reasoning.
2. Identify the different components that make up Clinical Expertise.
3. Define the process of Pattern Recognition and how it is used in the development of
Illness Scripts.
4. Explain the different methods of Cognitive Short-cuts.
5. Identify the different errors that may confound the process of Clinical Reasoning.
6. Discuss the different components of the SOAP format and the information that
belongs in each one.
7. Participate in an interactive class demonstration involving the analysis of a clinical
case with the aim of developing a list of differential diagnoses.

Session Duration: 2 hours

Session Activities:

1. Lecture (45 minutes): A theoretical background on the different aspects of Clinical

Reasoning, with emphasis on the deductive process.
2. Interactive Demonstration (75 minutes): A demonstration of the use of the SOAP
format in the analysis of a theoretical case, with the aim of developing a list of
differential diagnoses. Student participation is expected. Everyone is expected to be
prepared for this.