Think Before You Blink: Using Mindful Reflection to Slow Down and Think Deeply

Featured Speaker: Margaret M. Plack, PT, DPT, EdD, Professor, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, Department of Health, Human Function and Rehabilitation Sciences, George Washington University

In a busy day, medical professionals can rely on pattern recognition and heuristics to make quick decisions. While these techniques are often effective, they can be inherently biased. 

In her lecture, Margaret M.  Plack, PT, DPT, EdD, argues for why we should slow down to think and reflect. She opens by providing an overview of how we come to decisions: from our individual experiences and backgrounds, to our perceptions, to our assumptions and judgements, ending with our decided action/behavior. 

Plack moves on to how thinking too quickly can lead to clinical error, and conveys the importance of reflection, arguing the process is more analytical than most might think. She closes by providing three separate frameworks for developing a reflective mindset to help medical professionals improve their critical thinking and clinical reasoning.  

This lecture was part of Research and Education Week 2019 at Children’s National. You can find a full list of events for that week here.

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