Comparison of clinical reasoning skills in occupational therapy students in the USA and Scotland

Problem-based learning (PBL) in occupational therapy (OT) education has become increasingly important. However, the efficacy in identifying clinical reasoning skills has not been well researched. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utilization of clinical reasoning by students in the USA and Scotland. Thirty OT students were videotaped during a PBL case. Responses were transcribed and compiled into 122 statements. The two primary investigators independently coded each of the responses into one of five categories: Procedural, Interactive, Conditional reasoning, N/A, or Other. Intraclass correlation coefficients reflected strong reliability between the two raters (ICC = 0.914). Results of this study indicated that the predominant form of clinical reasoning was procedural in nature (61%) followed by conditional reasoning (27%) and interactive reasoning (12%). Students in Scotland tended to use interactive reasoning more than the students in the USA. Further research is needed to explore educational models to foster clinical reasoning skills in occupational therapy students.