Assessment of "Gut Feelings" Accuracy Regarding the Effect of Professional Experience in General Practitioners in Clinical Decision Making

Assessment of "Gut Feelings" Accuracy Regarding the Effect of Professional Experience in General Practitioners in Clinical Decision Making

Knowledge, experience and professional development limit the risk of diagnostic error for the clinician in daily practice. However, research has shown that other non-analytical factors are involved in clinical decision making. Intuition (or "gut feelings") is a subjective element involved in medical decision-making, and its place and relevance are being explored. The concept of "gut feelings" comes from General Practitioners (GPs) themselves and their description of their own practice. Several studies have shown its place in medical decision-making models, particularly in the face of diagnostic uncertainty.

A questionnaire used as a standardized measurement tool for gut feelings was created to address this issue. The Gut Feelings Questionnaire (GFQ) has been translated into French, German and Polish during a standardized linguistic validation procedure. It is currently validated and available in five languages. The QGF has been tested and validated in clinical practice by Belgian, French and Dutch physicians. Its feasibility has been evaluated in these three health systems.

The Gut Feelings Questionnaire was used in a prospective study to determine the accuracy of the sense of alarm in patients consulting their GP for chest pain and/or dyspnea. But the role of the practitioner's experience has not been studied: is the gut feeling more accurate in experienced GPs than in first semester interns in general practice?

Inclusion Criteria:

- GP population: General practitioners established for more than 3 years

- Intern population: Interns in general medicine in the first year of the third cycle of the diploma of specialized studies in general medicine

Exclusion Criteria:

- For the 2 populations: Refusal to participate

- Intern population: Interns in the second and third year of the diploma of specialized studies in general medicine