Is there a such thing as medical diagnostician?

Answer 1

Every physician or allied health-care practitioner (e.g., physician assistant, nurse practitioner or nurse) is, in his or her own way, a diagnostician insofar as the process of diagnosis is integral to the practice of medicine at every level. Without the proper diagnosis--a label for a disease or set of symptoms--the proper treatment or plan cannot be chosen. I assume this question may have been prompted by the popularity of the television medical drama "House, MD". Dr. Gregory House (played by Hugh Laurie) is head of the Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital's Department of Diagnostic Medicine. Not only is Princeton-Plainsboro a fictional hospital (though a beautiful one!), Diagnostic Medicine is not a recognized medical specialty. In fact, in one of the first season episodes, Dr. Lisa Cuddy states that the department was "invented" just for Dr. House. Nevertheless, one could argue that physicians--especially primary care physicians (family physicians, internists, pediatricians and emergency physicians)--are diagnostic medicine specialists, since these specialties deal with "undifferentiated complaints." Patients present to the ER or office complaining of symptoms that could have many possible causes, and the diagnostician has to interview and examine the patient, order appropriate tests or procedures, and render a diagnosis. Every physician who faces an undiagnosed complaint goes through a process very similar to that performed by Dr. House's team--the differential diagnosis. The differential diagnosis is the key to successful diagnostic reasoning, especially in difficult cases such as those faced by House's fictional team. However, there is also a fascinating body of evidence concerning medical decision-making that argues that physicians often use "heuristics," or rules-of-thumb and jumps of insight, to make diagnoses more often that they use formal logic or careful, stepwise reasoning. Dr. Jerome Groopman's recent book, "How Doctors Think," explores these areas. From another perspective, one could argue that pathologists and radiologists are the true diagnosticians. These specialists examine tissue samples or entire bodies, or examine imaging studies (CT, MRI, etc) and come to a diagnosis. It is often upon these specialist's work that other physicians depend in deciding what ails the patient. If one wants to participate in the challenging and exciting process of diagnosing disease in real life, one should work in the world of medicine. There are a variety of career types in the world of medicine that would allow one to practice diagnostic reasoning, and thereby help real people, whether or not you walk with a limp. Paul D. Simmons, MD

Family Physician and Diagnostician

Colorado

Answer 2

A doctor specializing in diagnosis (attempting to determine what someone is sick from)

Answer 3

While there currently is not a certification for medical diagnostician, you can obtain certification in radiology, pathology or something similar and receive the same recognition.