How USMLE Reviews Promotes Critical Thinking
Reference & Education → College & University
- Author Gerald Faye Johnson
- Published July 12, 2011
- Word count 480
There is an array of ideas and sometimes bewildering lists of terms used to describe the ways people think. But what does critical thinking mean? Can you expect USMLE review sessions to induce critical thinking skills from medical students; or better yet, help them develop these skills?
Critical thinking is a process involving mental operation as induction, deduction, classification, and reasoning. It is a process of dealing with abstractions and discovering the essential principles of things, as contrasted to remaining on the concrete level of facts and specific cases. This skill promotes the ability to analyze and criticize, and to reach conclusions based on sound inference and judgment.
In order for critical thinking skills to develop, USMLE review aims to help the medical students develop their intellectual skills of asking important questions and seeking answers first. Review sessions help the students acquire the inquiry process skills associated with various domains of human learning. Towards the end of the USMLE review months, review programs hope to have helped the medical students become independent, autonomous learners, confident, and capable of learning on their own. As such, the review sessions incorporate various methods of instruction and review, but will always follow the following phases of mentoring using inquiry method to promote critical thinking skills of medical students:
-
Phase 1: Provision of objectives, and setting and explaining of inquiry procedures. Mentor goes over the objectives of the review session and gets the review participants ready to inquire. He also explains the ground rules.
-
Phase 2: Presentation of the clinical problem. Mentor describes the clinical problem to the medical students using the most appropriate medium.
-
Phase 3: Gathering of information and research. Review mentor encourages medical students to ask questions about the clinical problem given with the aim of helping them gather information to assist inquiry.
-
Phase 4: Anticipation and Reasoning. Assumptions of foreseeable situations are encouraged to be created. Students must also provide reasons for them in relation to the clinical problem set.
Phase 5: Analysis of the inquiry process. The mentor gets the medical students to think about their own intellectual process and the inquiry process associated with the specific review topic.
Towards the end of the phase, the medical students have accomplished varied sets of critical thinking skills namely: evaluation which is done through assessment, comparison, and inference; analysis which is achieved through exchange of ideas through discussion, comparison of assessment results from a standard from previous medical school learning and experiences, and comprehension by connection which will be attained through careful analysis and evaluation. Comprehension through connection is indicated by how well the medical students relate the clinical problem set with their own assumptions.
Through this, the medical students (without being aware and probably without so much effort) were stimulated to use their critical thinking skills. Through the USMLE review session discussions, new learning are achieved; as well as development and enhancement of critical thinking skills.
Gerald Faye Johnson is an Educational Content Consultant for various USMLE Step 1 Reviews produced by Apollo Audiobooks, LLC and Premedical Solutions, LLC. You can find the source interview podcast for this USMLE Step One resource at our website.
Article source: https://articlebiz.comRate article
Article comments
There are no posted comments.
Related articles
- The Science (and Mystery) of Free Will: With Implications for Determinism, Morality and Law
- The Mystery of Gravity: An Exercise of the Imagination
- The Jewish Lobby
- Is college worth it?
- Biology in the Bible: Evolution in the Garden of Eden
- From Hand to Mouth: The Happenstance of Human Language Origins
- Uncovering Social Engineering: Shielding Your Digital Strongholds
- Pitfalls in IELTS exams
- Study of Bacterial Mastitis in Dairy Cattle of Pokhara Valley, Kaski Nepal.
- What is the best college counseling service for Ivy League schools?
- Are college admissions coaches worth it?
- How do I choose a college admissions counselor? — The Ivy Institute
- The Ivy Institute Recognized in “15 Best Ivy League Blogs and Websites” by Feedspot
- Reviews of The Ivy Institute Come in the Form of Acceptance Letters!
- What is Harvard looking for? Why this question is a student’s biggest mistake. — The Ivy Institute
- Do you need a college admissions consultant?
- Five digits may change admissions: Will zip codes become the new affirmative action? — The Ivy Institute
- Essay: Wave/Particle Theory Revisited: In Support of de Broglie's Model
- The South China Sea: Navigating a Geopolitical Hotspot
- Reasons to Get a Roommate: Enhancing Your Living Experience
- Rural Realities: iLembe District's Struggle with Technological Disparity
- Tips for managing funds effectively for college students
- AN ASSESSMENT OF WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS SPECIAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMMES IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA
- What happens after graduation from the Higher Institution of Learning?
- What You Need To Have Before Graduating College
- Best Scholarships for Women in USA
- College Scholarships Essay tips
- History of Texas A&M University
- Essay: Brain Genesis and the Frontal Cortex : An Approach/Avoidance Model
- Campus Involvement on College Campuses