End of ITP & Thoughts on Learning Styles
Today marks the end of our two-week Introduction to the Profession (ITP) and the beginning of regular classes. The two programs, New Pathway and HST, will separate here and reunite only in third year when we begin working in the clinic.
I wanted to take this chance to reflect on case-based learning, the mainstay of New Pathway and most other medical schools in the country. A patient's clinical case is presented, usually with uncertainty about the underlying disease. Uncertain parts of the case - test results, symptoms, X-ray readings, family history - are split among students to research, and upon reconvening each student shares his research with everyone else. Gradually the case is clarified with help from a supervising group leader, usually a doctor.
For me, this system was inefficient for learning. An entire two-hour session could be distilled into a single sheet of paper that could be read in fifteen minutes. Our group would also often branch into unrelated tangents on minor details, bringing up interesting facts that were irrelevant to the case.
I am not suggesting that the problem-based learning model is without merit. The benefits of this system are clear - it resembles real clinical practice in that the patient's condition is often unknown and requires gradual steps to figure out. Furthermore,it encourages collaboration between students, building the type of collaborative spirit central to medical teams in hospitals.
Ultimately the question is whether medical school is about learning the facts or learning the skills of becoming a doctor. Of course, it should be about both. But in these cases, the only skills we practiced were researching a narrow part of the overall case and presenting information to other students, both of which you either already have or can develop quickly. Once these skills are developed, future cases become inefficient in the learning you do per amount of time.
I would rather first build a solid foundation of knowledge through efficient learning, then progress to case work when I am not as clueless.
Medical students - how do you feel about case based learning?
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September 1st, 2009 - 14:55
I agree, case studies in the classroom environment are inefficient and often a waste of time. Fortunately my preclinical years didn’t put too much of an emphasis on that. In Med 3 and beyond, I’ve found that cased-based review books are very helpful in formulating differential diagnoses and coming up with diagnostic/treatment plans.