Jonathan Ilgen

Jonathan Ilgen, MD, MCR, FACEP is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He holds a faculty appointment in the Division of Emergency Medicine and serves as Associate Director of the Center for Leadership & Innovation in Medical Education (CLIME). Dr. Ilgen directs the Medical Education Research Fellowship program and has served as a longitudinal faculty mentor for medical students in the UW School of Medicine Colleges since 2011.

His research program investigates the cognitive foundations of clinical and diagnostic reasoning, with particular focus on how physicians develop diagnostic expertise and how reasoning skills can be effectively assessed. Dr. Ilgen's work bridges cognitive psychology and medical education, examining the interplay between automatic and analytic thought processes in clinical decision-making. He has led foundational consensus efforts to establish best practices for diagnostic reasoning assessment and conducted systematic reviews evaluating simulation-based training in emergency medicine education.

Analysis of Dr. Ilgen's publication record reveals consistent contributions to medical education methodology, particularly in assessment science. His research examines the comparative validity of checklists versus global rating scales, the design of clinical vignettes for diagnostic performance evaluation, and the conceptual role of diagnostic labels in reasoning processes. These studies collectively advance understanding of how medical learners acquire diagnostic competence and how educational interventions can be optimized.

Through the Medical Education Research Fellowship, Dr. Ilgen mentors clinician-educators in research methodology while cultivating a collaborative environment for medical education scholarship. His leadership in CLIME and educational roles across the medical school demonstrate commitment to developing future educators and improving assessment practices institution-wide. His work continues to influence both emergency medicine training and broader medical education through evidence-based approaches to clinical reasoning development.