LectureVid 5.1: Strategies to Minimize Cognitive Errors Part 2

The TWED mnemonic checklist is a 4-item checklist purported to minimize the tendency of cognitive errors such as premature closure. The first item represented by the letter “T = Threat” is to reflect on the question “Is there any life or limb threatening conditions I need to rule out in this patient?” The second item, “W = What else?” is about reflecting on the questions of “What if I am wrong? What else?” The third item “E= Evidences” is about reflecting on the question of the sufficiency of the evidences or data to support or refute a particular diagnosis (“Do I have enough evidences to support or exclude this diagnosis?”) whereas the fourth item, “D = Dispositional influences” deals with the hidden emotional or environmental dispositional factors (e.g. doctor’s fatigue, busy emergency ward, etc.) that may influence the quality of the diagnostic decisions. This lecture discusses the checklist.