Critical Thinking In Clinical Research

Critical Thinking in Clinical Research explains the fundamentals of clinical research in a case-based approach. The core concept is to combine a clear and concise transfer of information and knowledge with an engagement of the reader to develop a mastery of learning and critical thinking skills. The book addresses the main concepts of clinical research, basics of biostatistics, advanced topics in applied biostatistics, and practical aspects of clinical research, with emphasis on clinical relevance across all medical specialties.

This volume of the Thinker’s Guide Library introduces healthcare students and professionals to the foundations of critical thinking and offers examples of applications within clinical fields. It is an essential companion for all healthcare courses as it advances critical thinking within all specialties with the clinical professions.

"This much-needed volume brings to the clinician or student some of the best critical-minded analysis by some of the most insightful thinkers about psychiatric diagnosis today. The thought-provoking questions these essays raise, and the multifaceted and provocative answers they provide, cultivate sensitivity to the nuances of diagnostic assessment that often makes the difference between clinical success and failure." - Jerome C. Wakefield, PhD, DSW, New York University Silver School of Social Work, New York This transformative resource challenges social workers and mental health professionals to rethink their approaches to assessment and diagnosis from the ground up. Among the book’s unique features are its use of diverse lenses to examine a common case and its illustration of how multiple perspectives can be integrated for a richly textured portrait of the individual in context. Equally crucial is the book’s commitment to professional development, from exercises to improve case conceptualization to strategies for teaching and learning. Topics include: The DSM-5 definition of mental disorder: critique and alternatives. Making assessment decisions: macro, mezzo, and micro perspectives. Neuroscience, resilience, and the embodiment of “mental” disorder. Narrative, psychodynamic, and cultural conceptualizations of disorder. Person-centered and contextualized diagnosis in mental health. Meeting the challenge of teaching integrated assessment. Critical Thinking in Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis has much to offer professionals, researchers, and educators in the fields of social work and mental health. .

Evidence-Based Practice: Logic and Critical Thinking in Medicine provides easy access to fundamental principles, quickly assimilated techniques, and proven, rigorous application that demonstrates how logic and critical thinking are applied to the medical thinking process. This marriage allows health professionals to understand the critical use of evidence logically and in a structured, methodological way to make medical decisions. Such uses of evidence are the essence of Evidence-Based Practice as reflected in the spirit of this book. In order to ensure better patient outcomes, physicians have to learn how rational, practical uses of evidence allow organized decision-making in practice and research. In a textbook format, Evidence-Based Practice: Logic and Critical Thinking in Medicine offers the reader principles and techniques in Part One. Part Two shows the application of logic and critical thinking to clinical problem solving in practice, medical research, and public health.

Decisions are influenced by a variety of fallacies and biases that we can learn how to avoid. Critical thinking values, knowledge, and skills, therefore, are integral to evidence-based practice. These emphasize the importance of recognizing ignorance as well as knowledge and the vital role of criticism in discovering how to make better decisions. This book is for clinicians--clinicians who are willing to say "I don't know." Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice, Second Edition is designed to enhance readers' skills in making well-informed, ethical decisions. Making such decisions is no easy task. Decisions are made in uncertain, changing environments with time pressures. Interested parties, such as the pharmaceutical industry, spend millions of dollars to influence decisions made. Drawing on a wide range of related literature, this book describes common pitfalls in clinical reasoning as well as strategies for avoiding them--sometimes called mind-tools. Mental health and allied professionals will come away from this text with knowledge of how classification decisions, a focus on pathology, and reliance on popularity can cause errors. Hazards involved in data collection and team decision making such as groupthink are discussed. Part 1 provides an overview of the context in which clinicians make decisions. Part 2 describes common sources of error. Part 3 describes decision aids including the process of evidence-based practice. Part 4 describes the application of related content to different helping phases including assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Part 5 suggests obstacles to making well-informed decisions and how to encourage lifelong learning. This new Second Edition has been completely updated with expanded coverage on: Evidence-based practice Screening issues and practice errors Lifelong learning Problem solving Decision making An interactive, dynamic book filled with insightful examples, useful lists and guidelines, and exercises geared to encourage critical thinking, Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice, Second Edition provides an essential resource for helping professionals and students.

Praise for Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice, Third Edition "Eileen Gambrill is unparalleled in her ability to describe common flaws and biases in clinical decision making. The result in this revised edition is a steadfast call for change that also acknowledges the demands of practice. A must-read for clinicians and researchers alike." —Elizabeth K. Anthony, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Arizona State University "This Third Edition builds upon the impressive strengths of Gambrill's prior treatments of the topic to support the notion that critical thinking is a teachable skill and one essential for contemporary practice in the human services. This book should be the default authority on the topic of critical thinking for human service professionals and would be an excellent textbook." —Bruce A. Thyer, PhD, LCSW, Professor and former Dean, Florida State University College of Social Work "I was skeptical about how Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice could be improved, but Eileen Gambrill has succeeded! Her articulation of critical thinking skills for clinical decisions ultimately will benefit the people we serve." —Joanne Yaffe, PhD, ACSW, Associate Professor of Social Work and Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Utah A balanced and illustrative guide to incorporating critical-thinking values, knowledge, and skills into clinical education and practice Now in a third edition, Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice is written for helping professionals who want to think more clearly about the decisions they make and the context in which they make them. It is a practical volume for clinicians who would like to expand their knowledge of common pitfalls and fallacies in clinical reasoning. As in earlier editions, this Third Edition draws on research related to problem solving and decision making, illustrating the relevance of research findings to everyday clinical practice and policy. Revised throughout, the new edition includes discussion of: The influence of pharmaceutical companies on the helping professions, including disease mongering—the creation of bogus risks, problems, and needless worries Different kinds of propaganda in the helping professions that compromise informed consent Additional coverage of classification, pathology, reliance on authority, and hazards in data collection The development of decision aids of value to both professionals and clients The relative contribution of specific interventions compared to nonspecific factors to positive outcome Factors related to decision making in multidisciplinary teams New developments regarding intuitive and analytic reasoning The pragmatic theory of fallacies Designed to enhance the quality of services offered to clients, Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice, Third Edition is filled with insightful examples, useful lists, websites, and guidelines, presenting an essential resource for all helping professionals and students in the helping professions.

Critical thinking is an essential skill for learners and teachers alike. Therefore, it is essential that educators be given practical strategies for improving their critical thinking skills as well as methods to effectively provide critical thinking skills to their students. The Handbook of Research on Critical Thinking and Teacher Education Pedagogy examines and explains how new strategies, methods, and techniques in critical thinking can be applied to classroom practice and professional development to improve teaching and learning in teacher education and make critical thinking a tangible objective in instruction. This critical scholarly publication helps to shift and advance the debate on how critical thinking should be taught and offers insights into the significance of critical thinking and its effective integration as a cornerstone of the educational system. Highlighting topics such as early childhood education, curriculum, and STEM education, this book is designed for teachers/instructors, instructional designers, education professionals, administrators, policymakers, researchers, and academicians.

This work provides a thought-provoking account of how medical treatments can be tested with unbiased or 'fair' trials and explains how patients can work with doctors to achieve this vital goal. It spans the gamut of therapy from mastectomy to thalidomide and explores a vast range of case studies.