Twelve tips for developing healthcare learners’ uncertainty tolerance

Abstract

Background: Uncertainty is pervasive throughout healthcare practice. Uncertainty tolerance (i.e. adaptively responding to perceived uncertainty) is considered to benefit practitioner wellbeing, encourage person-centred care, and support judicious healthcare resource utilisation. Accordingly, uncertainty tolerance development is increasingly referenced within training frameworks. Practical approaches to support healthcare learners’ uncertainty tolerance development, however, are lacking. Aims: Drawing on findings across the literature, and the authors’ educational experiences, twelve tips for promoting healthcare learners’ uncertainty tolerance were developed. Results: Tips are divided into 1. Tips for Learners, 2. Tips for Educators and Supervisors, and 3. Tips for Healthcare Education Institutions and Systems. Each tip summarises relevant research findings, alongside applications to educational practice. Conclusions: Approaches to developing uncertainty tolerance balance factors supporting learners through uncertain experiences, with introducing challenges for learners to further develop uncertainty tolerance. These tips can reassure healthcare education stakeholders that developing learner uncertainty tolerance, alongside core knowledge, is achievable.