PARENT SESSION
EDUCATIONAL METHODS
70
USE OF CLINICAL CASE STUDIES IN TEACHING ENDOCRINE AND REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY TO UNDERGRADUATES IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY.
Marcinkiewicz, Jennifer1, 1
ABSTRACT- Problem-based learning has received increasing attention as a particularly effective teaching method. This kind of learning emphasizes concept mastery and encourages students to learn in a mode other than by rote memorization. The clinical case study approach has been used in physiology courses, but the exercise described here adds another dimension. Rather than receiving all of the patient information up-front, the students must first form a hypothesis regarding an endocrine disorder based on patient symptoms and then request specific lab tests. The exercise format involves answering the following questions. 1. What disorder(s) do you suspect? Students use critical thinking skills to identify affected systems. Their knowledge of endocrine regulation of systems leads them to the second phase. 2. What laboratory tests will you perform to diagnose the problem? Lab tests are useful for understanding the overall disorder and often for determining the specific endocrine defect as well. Students order tests by requesting the results of individual tests from the instructor. Each laboratory test has a cost associated with it and this encourages selection of appropriate tests. 3. Do the test results support your initial hypothesis regarding the endocrine disorder? If not, students reassess the symptoms and order additional tests. 4. What is your final diagnosis? How do the laboratory tests and patient symptons support this diagnosis AND eliminate any other diagnoses you may have considered? 5. Propose treatment options. Each group of students presents their case study to the class and also presents their total bill for lab analyses. During presentation of the case study, the instructor can elicit further discussion by asking leading questions such as....What would you have concluded if hormone X were normal rather than elevated? Are there examples of tissue insensitivity that you are aware of that might pertain to this situation? In conclusion, this exercise encourages critical thinking because students initial hypotheses are often incorrect, which requires further reflection, analysis and hypothesis testing. In contrast, when students receive all of the results up-front, they usually arrive at the correct answer rather quickly with less involvement of hypothesis testing.
KEY WORDS: education, endocrine, physiology