Clinical reasoning is often difficult to teach because much of it happens silently. The Think Aloud process makes that reasoning visible by asking clinicians, educators, or students to verbalize what they notice, what questions arise, how they interpret information, and why they choose one action over another.

In this episode, we explore how Think Aloud can be used in clinical education to demonstrate the progression from initial observations to problem identification, differential diagnosis, testing, treatment, and reassessment. Rather than focusing only on arriving at the correct answer, the process emphasizes how decisions are made, how priorities are established, and how uncertainty is managed.

Think Aloud allows students to hear an experienced clinician’s reasoning in real time while giving educators insight into how learners organize and apply their knowledge. By revealing assumptions, knowledge gaps, and decision points, it creates meaningful opportunities for reflection, feedback, and discussion. The result is a practical teaching approach that supports more deliberate, transparent, and confident clinical decision-making.

How can veterinary educators make the invisible process of clinical reasoning visible to students? In this episode, we explore the use of the Think Aloud method to pull back the curtain on how we as experienced practitioners reason through a case.

As the student works through a case, they may become derailed or get stuck. They may get to the right answer but how did they get there? By asking them to Think Aloud and then having them hear how you the clinician works through the case, listeners hear each step of the reasoning process—from gathering or clarifying a focused history, assessing the patient to developing differential diagnoses, selecting diagnostic tests, and determining what treatments may be necessary. This allows you the ability to "see" what they think and then provide coaching tips to encourage the process and actually help "teach" them to reason.

By verbalizing not only what to do but why, Think Aloud gives students a practical model for organizing information, prioritizing problems, managing uncertainty, and connecting clinical findings to patient care. This episode highlights how the method can support active learning, reveal gaps in understanding, and help students develop more confident and deliberate clinical decision-making skills.

What happens when two experienced veterinarians observe similar student performances—but rate them very differently?

In this episode, Clinton Roof, Director of Clinical Veterinary Affairs at Texas Tech, and Dr. Don Rollins, Director of Clinical Education, examine the “hawks and doves” of clinical evaluation. While hawks may assess students too critically, doves may offer praise that doesn’t accurately reflect performance. Both approaches are often well-intentioned, but either can undermine confidence, create confusion, and limit meaningful growth.

The conversation explores how clinical instructors can use entrustment scales as intended—not as traditional letter grades, but as practical measures of the supervision and guidance a student requires. Listeners will learn how accurate observation, timely feedback, thoughtful coaching, and simple documentation can produce fair assessments and better-prepared veterinarians. The central takeaway is clear—don’t be a hawk or a dove; be an accurate observer and a good coach.