Semantic competency as a marker of clinical reasoning performance

Purpose: This study sought to explore the relationship between semantic competence (or dyscompetence) displayed during think alouds performed by resident and attending physicians and clinical reasoning performance.

Methods: Internal medicine resident physicians and practicing internists participated in “think-alouds” performed after watching videos of typical presentations of common diseases in internal medicine. The think-alouds were evaluated for the presence of semantic competence and dyscompetence and these results were correlated with clinical reasoning performance. 

Results: We found that the length of think-aloud was negatively correlated with clinical reasoning performance. Beyond this finding, however, we did not find any other significant correlations between semantic competence or dyscompetence and clinical reasoning performance.

Conclusion: While this study did not produce the previously hypothesized findings of correlation between semantic competence and clinical r...