ABSTRACT

References 5

Progress in medicine is made in small steps. Many day-to-day decisions are made by trial

and error, and the clinician routinely evaluates the results of an intervention and makes

further decisions based on these results. Similar situations in subsequent patients are

managed in a way which is based on the results of decisions made in previous patients.

This process is routinely known as the acquisition of “clinical experience,” which is accu-

mulated over years and then taught to others both formally and informally.