You have now looked at all of the data Dr. Chang gathered, including symptoms and signs from the interview and exam. Now I'd like you to evaluate how Dr. Chang decided to put all of this information together to create a differential diagnosis for Jenny Anderson's ankle.
Critique of the Differential Diagnosis
In some ways, coming up with a differential diagnosis is a bit like solving a mystery. Just as a detective uses clues to develop a list of likely suspects who may have committed the crime, we as physicians must use information and clues to determine what medical condition we suspect is causing the patient's discomfort. The final conclusion about which medical condition or disease the patient has is called the diagnosis. Before identifying the actual 'culprit,' though, a physician must make a list of likely conditions – possible causes for the patient's symptoms – to explore and choose from. This is called the differential diagnosis.
Your job in this task is to evaluate whether Dr. Chang used good reasoning to narrow down the list of the many possible medical conditions that could be causing Jenny's pain in order to make a well thought-out differential diagnosis.
First, I would like you to read Dr. Chang's differential diagnosis for Jenny Anderson's ankle problem. Then, using the attached template, I'd like you to carefully critique the differential diagnosis. You'll want to consider not only whether all appropriate, possible diagnoses are listed but also whether they are included (or not included) for the right reasons.
