Educating the Clinical Mind: Teaching Clinical Reasoning, Brick by Brick

June 20, 2025

Dr. Jeremy Richards, Director of Curriculum at ScholarRx, presents Clinical Presentation Bricks—a structured educational approach designed to teach medical students clinical reasoning skills. Drawing on cognitive science research, Dr. Richards explains how these bricks help students move beyond memorizing facts to developing the adaptive thinking skills needed for clinical practice. The presentation covers the challenge of teaching clinical reasoning, the cognitive science behind medical decision-making, and how Clinical Presentation Bricks bridge the gap between preclinical knowledge and patient care.

Clinical Presentation Bricks are organized around patient symptoms rather than diseases, aligning educational content with clinical workflow. Each brick follows a six-step template that guides students through clinical presentations, pathophysiology, data gathering, and diagnostic reasoning. The approach incorporates interactive exercises, visual learning elements, and vertical integration that connects basic science concepts to real patient scenarios. Dr. Richards demonstrates the methodology using examples from the first batch of 37 clinical presentations, including chest pain, altered mental status, and other common patient complaints.

This presentation is valuable for medical educators, curriculum developers, and clinical faculty interested in evidence-based approaches to teaching clinical reasoning. Dr. Richards, a pulmonary and critical care physician with over a decade of medical education experience, provides practical insights into implementing structured clinical reasoning education within existing medical school curricula.

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