Title: Cultivating a Thinking Surgeon: New Perspectives on Clinical Teaching, Learning and Assessment
Abstract: “ T hinking surgeon” is a phrase that invites a smirk. Surgeons like to cultivate their image as doers, not thinkers. In multidisciplinary discussions they generally brood for a long time before saying, “I'm only a simple surgeon but…” No one is fooled by this self deprecation, which is a preamble to the surgeon cutting through the verbiage and getting to the heart of the matter.
Educationists, on the other hand, enjoy a good think, preferably while sitting in a circle. They write ideas on flipcharts and add arrows pointing up and down. …