Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2015 May;108(5):160-4.
doi: 10.1177/0141076815585057.

Curiosity. Are you curious enough to read on?

Ami Schattner  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Curiosity. Are you curious enough to read on?

Ami Schattner. J R Soc Med. 2015 May.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Five major domains are strongly affected by curiosity (an original perspective): A. Data collection – more comprehensive, better elicitation of the patient’s history, narrative, contextual factors and improved observation and detection of examination findings. B. Learning opportunity – patient-oriented, reflexive problem-based learning. Curiosity facilitates finding the best available answers for the patient, underlies a habit of obtaining follow-up, and ensures continuous professional development. C. Research – potential trigger of formulating a general research question and developing future original research. D. Personal view – understanding the patient’s identity and ubiquitous emotional aspects, whether primary or reactive to the illness. Sensed by the patient, it leads to reciprocal trust, adherence and improved health outcomes. E. Mindfulness, introspection, reflection equal self-directed curiosity that improves indicators of patient-centred care and physicians’ well-being. A (data), B (learning) and C (research) are predominantly cognitive, while D (personal) and E (mindfulness) are primarily emotive and promote empathy. A (data), B (learning) and D (personal) are all patient-centred (highlighted). C (research) is science-centred, and E (mindfulness) constitutes self-centred-curiosity. Only excellence in C (research) is considered prestigious and associated with career advancement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gregory RL, ed. Oxford Companion to the Mind. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
    1. Epstein RM, Siegel DJ, Silberman J. Self-monitoring in clinical practice: a challenge for medical educators. J Contin Educ Health Prof 2008; 28: 5–13. - PubMed
    1. Schattner A. The clinical encounter revisited. Am J Med 2014; 127: 268–274. - PubMed
    1. Alpern RJ, Long S. Scientific Foundation for Future Physicians, Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges, 2009.
    1. Epstein RM, Hundert EM. Defining and assessing professional competence. JAMA 2002; 287: 226–235. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources