RESUMO
The purpose of this study was to apply diagnostic clinical reasoning, based upon cognitive teaching, to help the student develop their own mental structure of an ailment or disease. Such a structure is built as mathematical chaotic deterministic type that can be evaluated through identification of dynamic attractors. To achieve our purpose, clinical diagnostic reasoning skills of two groups of students was compared against those of an expert through revision of 17 clinical cases. Such revision, selection of relevant data, allows for construction of conceptual maps in which several dynamic attractors can be identified, based on the largest number of connections that stem from some concepts. In the majority of cases, statistical analysis showed similarity among types of connections established by the expert; several similar dynamic attractors could be identified, leading us to conclude that cognitive-based teaching of diagnostic clinical reasoning is useful in developing this type of skill, and that it can be evaluated through identification of dynamic attractors.