What is Patient Cases

Health professional education is changing to meet the demands of a limited workforce and a focus on community-based clinical training. The change requires a focus on technology-supported learning in order to reach students and teachers who are separated by significant distances. The use of patient cases as reusable learning objects has received considerable attention in the sector and many support the use of such resources, but in order to do so the cases must be meaningfully integrated into the learning experience. This chapter reports the results of an analytical study that has developed eight generic case based learning designs categorised into three broad approaches supported by research evidence from the literature. These learning designs document common patterns in case based learning that could be adapted by teachers and designers to the specific requirements of different contexts. In closing, the authors consider how learning designs might be used as a vehicle for effectively integrating patient cases.