gms | German Medical Science

Background: General practitioners (GPs) face both benign and serious diagnoses sometimes presented with the same vague symptoms. That is why consultations in primary care are described as complex, dealing with uncertainty and unpredictability ‘on the edge of chaos’. In these situations, occasionally GPs experience an uncomfortable feeling that something does not fit in a patient’s clinical presentation. It alerts the doctor, activates the diagnostic process and induces him / her to initiate specific management to prevent serious health outcomes. The aim of this workshop is to share the practical significance of research on the topic.

Target audience: The workshop is aiming at GPs and practice-nurses and will be held in English but with ample opportunity to contribute or translate into German if needed.

Didactic method: The participants will be presented with the opinion of some German GPs about gut feelings, from semistructured interviews, and what their colleagues all over Europe said. Do disciplinary medical tribunals take gut feelings seriously? The results of systematic studies in the Netherlands and Flanders will be discussed. A main part of the workshop will be a practical exercise with a one-page German language questionnaire measuring gut feelings in the diagnostic process. There will be enough time for discussion.

Objectice: The participants know how to deal with their gut feelings in the diagnostic reasoning process.

Number of participants: 25 to 40 participants

Short introduction of the workshop chairs: Johannes Hauswaldt, GP-researcher, University Medicine Göttingen. Erik Stolper, GP-researcher, Maastricht University, University of Antwerp.