Examining Clinical Reasoning With Eye-tracking

The process of medical information intake, interpretation and diagnosis, commonly referred to as clinical reasoning, involves a complex interaction between visual perception and multiple cognitive processes. Assessing students' clinical reasoning skills is a challenging but critical task in developing an optimal teaching curriculum. In this project, the investigators plan to apply the eye-tracking technology to medical education with a specific goal of examining cognitive processing during reading medical chart and x-ray films. Data collected by eye tracking technology will help investigate the perceptual and cognitive underpinnings of clinical reasoning (CR), misinterpretation and misdiagnosis among three participant groups with different levels of clinical experience. Knowledge gained from this project will help to decode the intricate cognitive loop involved in medical interpretation. Further, this study will help to develop alternative methods of assessing student's clinical reasoning skills and promote medical education with novel eye tracking technology.