INTEGRATED CASE FORMAT AS A NOVEL WAY TO TEACH MUSCULOSKELETAL MEDICINE

Sogol Javaheri, Ben Sayers, and Elizabeth B. Brooks, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 U.S.A

Purpose

Students may have limited exposure to musculoskeletal diseases in both the academic and clinical setting.  The new curriculum at CASE provides for a unique opportunity to integrate the basic and clinical sciences, using non-traditional approaches to teach students to be better able to recognize some of the more common problems seen in both rheumatology and orthopedics.

Methods

Two cases will be presented to students in the small group setting during their last block: 

Case 1: An immunosuppressed patient with lupus presenting with confusion and psychotic features allows exploration of the manifestations of SLE, common psychiatric disorders, possible side effects of corticosteroid use as well as infectious complications of immunosuppression.

Case 2: A simulated immunocompromised patient, post renal transplant, presents with an inflamed knee.  Using computer simulation, students aspirate the joint, analyze the results of the joint fluid, and embark on a plan of treatment.

Results

Results are pending as the cases have not yet been implemented.

Conclusion/Future Questions

Outcome measures will be important to assess the success of the exercises. What format is best to use for evaluation?

(1) focus groups, (2) testing of objective knowledge based on multiple choice questions, (3) integration of knowledge in open book self-evaluation questions, (4) OSCE format examinations, (5) other more innovative formats