Understanding uncertainty in medicine: concepts and implications in medical education.
In an era of high technology and low trust, acknowledging and coping with uncertainty is more crucial than ever. Medical uncertainty has been considered an innate feature of medicine and medical practice. An intolerance to uncertainty increases physicians' stress and the effects of burnout and may be a potential threat to patient safety. Understanding medical uncertainty and acquiring proper coping strategies has been regarded to be a core clinical competency for medical graduates and trainees. Integrating intuition and logic and creating a culture that acknowledges medical uncertainty could be suggested ways to teach medical uncertainty. In this article, the authors describe the concepts of medical uncertainty, its influences on physicians and on medical students toward medical decision making, the role of tolerance/intolerance to uncertainty, and proposed strategies to improve coping with medical uncertainty.
['Kim|Kangmoon|K|', 'Lee|Young-Mee|YM|']
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological D002055:Burnout, Professional D002983:Clinical Competence D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making D032882:Comprehension D003657:Decision Making D004501:Education, Medical D006801:Humans D010820:Physicians D013315:Stress, Psychological D013337:Students, Medical D035501:Uncertainty
Uncertainty Medical education Decision making Competency-based education Heuristics