Journal for Medical Education

In medicine, research on medical errors, patient safety issues and evidence-based decision-making is well established and important. The digitalization of healthcare, the use of artificial intelligence in all areas of care, the increasing commercialization of healthcare services, the demand for patient and public involvement in health research, and climate protection and sustainability pose new and complex challenges. For all these areas, the targeted and critical selection of information sources, the analysis of the information and the associated considerations and conclusions for solving medical problems play an important role, especially for physicians. This has sparked interest in a better understanding of the development, promotion and testing of so-called critical thinking and reasoning in both the preclinical and clinical contexts (especially with regard to the mechanisms of patient-related decision-making). We see critical thinking and well-founded decision-making as an indispensable part of scientific competence.