Abstract

LOZANO, Rafael. Measurement, Medicine, and Critical Thinking: Toward an Environmentally Conscious Medical Practice. Rev. Fac. Med. (Méx.) [online]. 2025, vol.68, n.5, pp.43-52.  Epub Oct 24, 2025. ISSN 2448-4865.  https://doi.org/10.22201/fm.24484865e.2025.68.5.07.

Measurement occupies a central place in contemporary medical practice, but its presence has been normalized, rendering its epistemological, ethical, and social assumptions invisible. The following presents a reflection on measurement in medicine, articulating it with critical thinking and environmental awareness. The distinction between counting and calculating is introduced, as is the role of uncertainty as an inherent component of every measurement process. Using a few examples, the need to train professionals capable of interpreting figures in their context is highlighted, avoiding both data fetishism and technocratic naivety. Critical thinking represents an ethical practice that allows us to problematize what is measured, how it is measured, and what is omitted when doing so, rather than as a skill isolated from measurement. Finally, it is argued that 21st-century medicine requires a transformation toward an environmentally conscious clinical practice that integrates biomedical knowledge with social, environmental, and cultural knowledge and trains health professionals capable of understanding the patient as part of a vital ecosystem in constant tension. It concludes with pedagogical recommendations aimed at renewing medical training from this perspective.

Keywords : Measurement in medicine; critical thinking; environmental awareness; health uncertainty; interdisciplinary medical practice.

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