PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Trisha Greenhalgh TI - Intuition and evidence--uneasy bedfellows? DP - 2002 May 01 TA - British Journal of General Practice PG - 395--400 VI - 52 IP - 478 4099 - http://bjgp.org/content/52/478/395.short 4100 - http://bjgp.org/content/52/478/395.full SO - Br J Gen Pract2002 May 01; 52 AB - Intuition is a decision-making method that is used unconsciously by experienced practitioners but is inaccessible to the novice. It is rapid, subtle, contextual, and does not follow simple, cause-and-effect logic. Evidence-based medicine offers exciting opportunities_for improving patient outcomes, but the 'evidence-burdened' approach of the inexperienced, protocol-driven clinician is well documented Intuition is not unscientific. It is a highly creative process, fundamental to hypothesis generation in science. The experienced practitioner should generate and follow clinical hunches as well as (not instead of applying the deductive principles of evidence-based medicine. The educational research literature suggests that we can improve our intuitive powers through systematic critical reflection about intuitive judgements--for example, through creative writing and dialogue with professional colleagues. It is time to revive and celebrate clinical storytelling as a method for professional education and development. The stage is surely set for a new, improved--and, indeed, evidence-based--'Balint'group.