Words of advice: how to write the story of a patient for a problem‐based learning session in a healthcare education program | Request PDF – ResearchGate

WORDS OF ADVICE

Words of advice: how to write the story of a patient for a

problem-based learning session in a healthcare education

program

Andrew D. Bergemann

1

, Matthew McMillin

2

, Miriah C. Gillispie-Taylor

3

, Gareth Gingell

4

,

R. Taylor Surles

5

and Rachel Wallace

4

1 Huffington Department of Education, Innovation and Technology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

2 Huffington Department of Education, Innovation and Technology, Baylor College of Medicine, Temple, TX, USA

3 Department of Pediatrics (Division of Rheumatology), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

4 Department of Medical Education, Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA

5 Department of Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

Keywords

author, case, guidelines, PBL, writing

Correspondence

A. D. Bergemann, Huffington Department

of Education, Innovation and Technology,

Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor

Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA

Tel: (347) 613 0449

E-mail: andrew.bergemann@bcm.edu

(Received 30 June 2024, revised 17

September 2024, accepted 25 November

2024)

doi:10.1111/febs.17343

Medical education is in the process of a pedagogical revolution. Traditional

lectures are playing a progressively smaller role, with more of the content

being delivered through student-centered small-group sessions. Problem-

based learning (PBL) has become a centerpiece of education for many medical

schools, in large part because of its focus on the learners identifying their own

knowledge gaps. As junior scientists seek faculty appointments in institutions

focused on healthcare education, they will find that skills in PBL are valued

by the academic community. Among the necessary skills is the capability to

lead efforts in PBL case writing. The cases, each of which is a narrative of a

patient’s experience of disease, are a critical component of the PBL process,

as they trigger learners to follow their curiosity and thereby drive learning. In

this article, we outline a clear methodology for educators to follow to create

new cases. The described steps provide guidance on making each case power-

ful to learners through creating immediacy and a sense of the patient as a

human being. Guidance is also provided to enable case authors to avoid the

common pitfalls, including avoiding the introduction of unintended biases

and microaggressions. Importantly, guidance is also provided regarding the

best practices to incorporate feedback from content experts. Following the

steps in our process promotes a methodical approach to case writing that con-

sistently generates a quality product that enriches student learning.

Introduction

Since its inception in the 1960s, Problem-Based Learn-

ing (PBL) has become a near-universal pedagogy in

North American medical schools and is widely used

in many other countries [1,2]. While the exact PBL

process differs across schools, the centerpiece of PBL

remains the cases, each of which is a narrative of a

patient’s history of health challenges. Cases can feature

patients with any medical concern, including patients

Abbreviations

ABA, applied behavior analysis; CBL, case-based learning; LGI, large group interactive; LO, learning objective; PBL, problem-based learning;

PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; SDL, self-directed learning; SDoH, social determinants of health.

1The FEBS Journal (2024) ª2024 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.