Tolerance for Uncertainty and Professional Development: a Normative Analysis.
J Gen Intern Med
; 36(8): 2408-2413, 2021 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1549541
ABSTRACT
Scholars from a range of disciplines including medicine, sociology, psychology, and philosophy have addressed the concepts of ambiguity and uncertainty in medical practice and training. Most of this scholarship has been descriptive, focusing on defining and measuring ambiguity and uncertainty tolerance or tracking clinicians' responses to ambiguous and uncertain situations. Meanwhile, scholars have neglected some fundamental normative questions Is tolerance of uncertainty good; if so, to what extent? Using a philosophical approach to these questions, we show that neither tolerance nor intolerance of uncertainty is necessarily a good or bad trait. Rather, both tolerance and intolerance of uncertainty can give physicians advantages while at the same time exposing them to pitfalls in clinical practice. After making this case, we argue that cultivating certain virtues-like courage, diligence, and curiosity-could help clinicians avoid the dangers of excessive tolerance and intolerance of uncertainty. Finally, we suggest that medical educators develop curricula and career counseling beginning with matriculation and proceeding through specialty choice and residency training that explicitly address trainees' responses to clinical uncertainty. These programs should encourage trainees, students and residents, to be mindful of their reactions to uncertainty and help them develop virtues that will allow them to avoid the hazards of extreme tolerance or intolerance of uncertainty.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physicians
/
Internship and Residency
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Gen Intern Med
Journal subject:
Internal Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S11606-020-06538-y
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