This chapter is based on the axiom that physicians need to make clinical decisions. While this is a complex process, it is poorly taught, often relying on trainees applying their knowledge and understanding of disease in the workplace, learning through osmosis, trial and error, and unchecked experience. Here, a senior physician describes a 30-year journey of searching for enlightenment not found in randomised clinical trials, to care for patients whose problems defied medical textbooks. Stumbling across qualitative research techniques and non-positivist philosophies, a new paradigm was revealed,one which was shockingly authentic and afforded clarity where previously things were a confusing mess. For a keen educator, the next step was bringing these new discoveries into the classroom, to challenge the hegemony of pure science,to value cognition over facts, to dissect student’s values and beliefs, all the while placing safe, compassionate care at the centre of learning. However, this story is not linear, showing how a teacher learns about themselves, how this impacts their teaching and how the rich milieu of the classroom is influenced by life’s experiences. It shows how an educator and physician worked iteratively with their professional and whole world experiences to tear down the homeostasis of the conventional medical classroom and build a better student experience.
- A Physician’s journey of self-discovery and its impact for teaching clinical decision-making
- Mark Holland - University of Greater Manchester
- Scott J. Threlfall (Editor)Jerome Carson (Editor)Geoff Baker (Editor)
- Autoethnographic Reflections from the Classroom, pp.169-183
- Springer Nature Switzerland; Cham
- 9974929108841; 9783032145482; 3032145481
- © 2026 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
- Education; UoA 4: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience; Advanced Clinical Practice; Psychology
- English
- Book chapter