Osteopathic clinical reasoning: An ethnographic study of perceptual diagnostic judgments, and metacognition

This is the first study to explore the subjective moment by moment clinical reasoning and decision-making strategies of an osteopath whilst with patients. It suggests that perceptual diagnostic judgments are multisensory and include mental and visual imagery, and embodied senses. These enable analytic and intuitive diagnostic strategies that are accompanied by persistent metacognitive processes during the consultation, which guide the practitioner's decision strategies.