Understanding clinical reasoning: A phenomenographic study with entry-level physiotherapy students

Introduction Entry-level students' conceptualizations of clinical reasoning can provide a starting point for program planning related to clinical reasoning development with a focus on patient-centered care Objective The aim of the study is to explore how physiotherapy students understand clinical reasoning midway through their education. Nine physiotherapy students were interviewed at the end of their third semester Methods Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted, recorded and transcribed verbatim. A phenomenographic approach to qualitative data analysis, seeking to explore variations in students' conceptions was applied Results The students' ways of understanding clinical reasoning could be described as: 1) the cognitive process of the physiotherapist; and 2) the relational process of the collaborative partnership between the physiotherapist and the patient. A contrastive analysis shows how the cognitive and relational perspectives are developed through the relationships among three dimensions of clinical reasoning: 1) problem-solving; 2) context of working; and 3) own learning Conclusion By identifying the critical variation in students' conceptions of clinical reasoning, focus can be placed on pedagogical arrangements to facilitate students' progression toward a person-centered approach.