STEM2020 - Are critical thinking and reflection required to learn Clinical Biochemistry?

A pedagogic intervention to facilitate acquisition/development of critical thinking and reflective skills was implemented in the final year module Clinical Biochemistry (De Montfort University, 2018/19). Students provided answers on diagnosis, treatment and management for three clinical cases distributed throughout the first term. The ability to extract all the fundamental concepts, synthesise information and clarity of expression, was enhanced in Medical Science students, which could be attributed to the feedback provided for each case. 88.3% considered that their critical thinking had improved by participating in this intervention and 66.6% learnt to reflect and resolve general pathologies using clinical biochemistry information.