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12/22/25

The first step in visual diagnosis: a study of novices developing the ability to distinguish normal from abnormal cases.

Oh, So-Young; Burk-Rafel, J; Reinstein, I; Hatala, R; Van Gerven, P W M; Smeenk, F W J M; Pusic, M V. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract.

Collection Topics
Cognition and Decision Making
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Summary

Visual diagnosis training in medicine often lacks effective methods. This study asked medical students and resident to interpret electrocardiograms and assessed how novices develop skills and confidence, finding cases varied from normal to abnormal with a difficult “confusability zone.” Participants' certainty improved slightly. The study recommends phased training: first focusing on abnormality detection, then advancing to detailed classification.

Read the paper
Oh S-Y, Burk-Rafel J, Reinstein I, et al. The first step in visual diagnosis: a study of novices developing the ability to distinguish normal from abnormal cases. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2026;31(4):1153-1170.