Background The use of gut feelings to guide clinical decision making in primary care has been frequently described but is not considered a legitimate reason for cancer referral. Aim To explore the role that gut feeling plays in clinical decision making in primary care. Design and setting Qualitative interview study with 19 GPs in Oxfordshire, UK. Method GPs who… read more

Background Growing evidence for the role of GPs’ gut feelings in cancer diagnosis raises questions about their origin and role in clinical practice. Aim To explore the origins of GPs’ gut feelings for cancer, their use, and their diagnostic utility. Design and setting Systematic review and meta-analysis of international research on GPs’ gut feelings in… read more

Clinical reasoning in general practice is increasingly challenging because of the rise in the number of patients with multimorbidity. This creates uncertainty because of unpredictable interactions between the symptoms from multiple medical problems and the patient’s personality, psychosocial context and life history. Case analysis may then be more appropriately managed by systems thinking than by… read more

Abstract Aim We examined how gut feelings of child health care physicians’ (CHCPs) contribute to the development of a suspicion of child abuse, how they act upon this suspicion and what barriers they experience in their management. To gain insight into the youth health care chain, we compared the diagnostic reasoning and management regarding this… read more

Abstract Purpose: To describe the role of intuition for maternity care workers in deciding when a cesarean section should be advised during labor. Material and methods: Focus group discussions with midwives and gynecologists, and nonparticipating observation at an obstetric ward. Results: The decision about when to propose a cesarean section during labor is the result… read more

Dutch medical disciplinary boards consider physicians’ gut feelings an element of the professional standards. Some indications can be found in the international literature suggesting intuitive feelings of unease of patients or their relatives can also contribute to adequate diagnostics. What is the view of disciplinary boards on this? A search in the disciplinary boards’ database… read more

Uncertainty and unpredictability are features of general practice despite all efforts to decrease them by guidelines and decision support tools. A great many medical problems are simple or complicated, and guidelines support GPs to find the best solutions. In cases with multimorbidity, however, medical problems are complex and not easy to deal with. In simple… read more