An embodied cognition based model of medical experts’ tacit knowledge: structure, hierarchies, and transformation

Background: Tacit knowledge plays a crucial role in clinical decision-making and medical innovation, particularly through experience-based and practice-oriented expertise. However, existing research has not yet provided a sufficiently integrated framework to explain how such knowledge is structured and transformed within medical practice. Methods: Grounded in embodied cognition theory, this study constructs a medical experts' tacit knowledge model encompassing four key elements of expert agent, context, thinking, and action. Building upon the layered perspective of the onion model, the study organizes tacit knowledge across three levels and explains its dynamic and bidirectional transformation. Results: The resulting framework integrates embodied experience, cognitive processes, and clinical practice into a coherent system. A case analysis of the acupuncture expert Wang Leting and his "Lao Shi Zhen" prescription is used to illustrate how the model operates in practice. Conclusion: The study provides a systematic perspective for understanding medical experts' tacit knowledge and offers theoretical insights for medical education, knowledge transmission, and clinical decision support.