I began my biomedical technician career some 46 years ago. The last 30 of those years have been a combination of work in the U.S. healthcare system and in international medical missions.
Although pictures from my medical mission trips often have me in surgery scrubs and imply that I am a clinical person, I actually provide the needed technical support to clinical staff. A major part of technical support is troubleshooting problems when they arise. This troubleshooting experience and skill is needed because clinical staff often think differently than biomed techs. Statistics and experience show that when a problem arises, clinical staff often assume there is a problem with the medical device. However, statistics show that somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of the time, the problem is NOT with the equipment and instead is failure with medical accessories, procedure errors, etc. Therefore, the critical thinking biomed tech immediately knows the odds are that the problem is not with the device.
When a technician is called for help, the troubleshooting skills kick in and the questions begin. Troubleshooting skills include critical thinking skills, cognitive skills, and problem-solving skills. Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments. Problem solving is the ability to identify and analyze the questions in a problem. All of these require asking questions and not assuming or believing anything until it is analyzed and verified.
Obviously, much tact and respect are required when working with clinical people. They are typically more educated than the technical people and know their jobs well. Therefore, diplomacy is needed when “thinking through” the multiple possibilities of the source of problems. Asking questions might be considered offensive, especially when you suggest there might be a “procedure error” (their mistake). Nevertheless, it is important to get the clinical people to consider all aspects and assume nothing.
There can be multiple difficulties when it comes to critical thinking. None of us think critically all the time and our thinking can be greatly influenced by emotions. Neuroscientists have proven that your brain cannot find solutions if you focus on the problem. This is because when you focus on the problem, you’re effectively feeding “negativity,” which in turn activates negative emotions in the brain. These emotions may block potential solutions or recognition of the real problem.
Critical thinking is vitally important in all aspects of life, not just in technical troubleshooting. I was reminded in my recent devotional readings on how this applies spiritually and specifically to understanding God’s Word. The reading was in Acts 17 where Paul and the team were in Thessalonica proclaiming the Good News. As was common throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus and with His followers ever since, many rejected and resisted the truth of the Good News. Some of the Thessalonians “were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.” v.5 Paul and Silas then departed for Berea and found a much more reasonable audience. “Now these (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” v.11
The passage points out the positive aspect of being “noble” and using critical thinking to “exam” (ask questions) to determine if what has been said is actually true and factual. As a result of them being noble and using critical thinking, “many of them therefore believed.” v.12 However, when those “from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.” v.13 There is a sharp contrast between the noble critical thinkers and those who deny or resist the truth.
What is the practical application of this? Whether it be in troubleshooting medical problems, understanding God and His word, understanding worldviews, determining what political positions are in keeping with Biblical principles, or knowing how to respond to any of the many opinions the world wants to force on us, we must remain noble, use critical thinking, and ask questions to verify whether what is told or assumed is actually true or not. Many fall to the temptation of popular opinion, political correctness, general fearfulness, and other influences that prevent us from being noble and using critical thinking. We must be like the Bereans and not let the world influence or manipulate our thinking.