research projects
Uncertainty in orthopaedics
This project was published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research in 2016. We set out to determine if uncertainty intolerance influences medical decision making in clinical orthopaedics.
Cognitive biases in clinical orthopaedics
Cognitive biases are ubiquitous in all aspects of human cognitive life and orthopaedic decision making is not immune from the effects of biases. This study published in 2021 evaluated the degree of biases expressed in a representative group of academic orthopaedic surgeons.
Fracture healing and the Sorites paradox
(ongoing) The determination of when exactly a fracture goes from "not-healed" to "healed" is not precise and yet it is treated as if it is in research and also clinical orthopaedics. This study will address how surgeons regard fracture healing and to what degree vagueness is tolerated or even recognized. The Sorites paradox arises when we try to apply sharp boundaries to vague predicates - like "healed".
Bayesian probability in orthopaedics
(ongoing) Bayesian probability is notoriously difficult to implement in clinical decision making. However it is not really known how frequently Bayesian thinking is used in practice. This study aims to quantify how often base rate neglect and other non-Bayesian processes are seen in actual decision making vignettes among practicing orthopaedic surgeons.
Ethics and decision-making in orthopaedics
(future) Surgical decision making is likely influenced by ethical theory. The three branches of ethical theory are consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. I aim to determine if surgeons prefer one over another in routine decisions and whether consequentialism is the favored in conditions of uncertainty or clinical equipoise.