Thinking About Thinking

Why do some clinicians make better decisions than others? Do all clinicians become better decision-makers over time? Is decision-making in healthcare an independent and trainable skill? This book is about the practice of medicine and the decision-making of the people we entrust with our care. While treatments, technologies and professional roles have evolved over the years, the essential act of decision-making has remained constant. Through personal experience, research and feedback from colleagues across healthcare, the authors examine how metacognition – or thinking about thinking – can provide a toolkit with which to improve the decision-making of all healthcare professionals. The rise of digital tools and AI-based clinical support systems makes this a critical time to grasp how human decision-makers operate and how to best harness the increasing volume of healthcare data available. This is a thought-provoking read for professionals and curious minds alike, packed with ideas and practical advice about how to improve decision-making in healthcare and deliver better outcomes for patients.