The Interpretation of Phrases Used to Describe Uncertainty in Pathology Reports

Table 1

Standard deviations for the interpretation of phrases describing uncertainty.

	Cellular pathologist consultants	Cellular pathologist trainees	Medical students	Doctors from other specialties	Overall
The features are indicative of …	9.4	13	17	13	16
The features raise the possibility of …	18	20	19	16	18
The features are compatible with …	18	17	19	17	19
The features are probably those of …	12	16	19	12	16
The features are diagnostic of …	4.2	5.9	11	5.8	8.4
The features are in keeping with …	16	17	17	15	18
The features are suggestive of …	17	15	17	20	18