Hoe pluis is het niet-pluisgevoel?

E. Stolper, M. van de Wiel, P. van Royen, P. Brand, G.J. Dinant

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Stolper cf, van de wiel mwj, van royen p, brand plp, dinant gj. Hoe pluis is het niet-pluisgevoel? een wetenschappelijke beschouwing huisarts wet 2015;58(4):192-5. Many gps use their gut feelings, in terms of a sense of reassurance or a sense of alarm, as a diagnostic compass. It is an initially non-analytical feeling, which can however set in train a process of rationally argued diagnostic management. The feeling is based on knowledge: medical knowledge, experiential knowledge and contextual knowledge. Gut feelings can act as a third track in diagnostic reasoning in addition to the well-known medical decision-making and medical problem-solving tracks, and thus contribute to selecting and processing relevant information in the diagnostic process. Discussing gut feelings in gp training courses provides better insights into the non-analytical aspects of the diagnostic reasoning by trainees. A short, validated questionnaire to assess the presence or absence of gut feelings in the diagnostic reasoning of gps is available. Hospital-based specialists also acknowledge the value of gut feelings in their reasoning, but emphasize that this always needs to be followed by an analytical step in the diagnostic process. Although evidence and ‘skilled intuition’ may sometimes look like irreconcilable opposites, the combination fits in very well with the concept of evidence-based medicine. Doctors are experts on diagnostics who have become very skilled in intuitively and analytically integrating different types of knowledge.
Original languageDutch
Pages (from-to)192-195
JournalHuisarts en Wetenschap
Volume58
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015

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