A Case Suspended in Time: The Educational Value of Case Reports.
Although medical case reports have fallen out of favor in the era of the impact factor, there is a long tradition of using case reports for teaching and discovery. Some evidence indicates that writing case reports might improve medical students' critical thinking and writing skills and help prepare them for future scholarly work. From 2009 through 2015, students participating in the case reporting program at a VA hospital produced 250+ case reports, 35 abstracts, and 15 journal publications. Here, three medical students who published their case reports comment on what they learned from the experience. On the basis of their comments, the authors propose five educational benefits of case reporting: observation and pattern recognition skills; hypothesis-generating skills; understanding of patient-centered care; rhetorical versatility; and use of the case report as a rapidly publishable "mini-thesis," which could fulfill MD thesis or scholarly concentration requirements. The authors discuss the concept of the case report as a "hybrid narrative" with simultaneous medical and humanistic significance, and its potential use to teach students about their dual roles as engaged listeners and scientists. Finally, the authors consider the limitations and pitfalls of case reports, including patient confidentiality issues, overinterpretation, emphasis on the rare, and low initial publication rates. Case reports allow students to contribute to medical literature, learn useful scholarly skills, and participate in a tradition that links them with past generations of physicians. The authors conclude that the case report can be an effective teaching tool with a broad range of potential educational benefits.
C.D. Packer is associate professor of medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and attending physician, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio. R.B. Katz is a third-year psychiatry resident, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut. C.L. Iacopetti is a first-year pediatric resident, University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, California. J.D. Krimmel is a fourth-year medical student, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. M.K. Singh is associate professor of medicine and assistant dean of health systems science, Case Western Reserve University, and attending physician, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Clifford D
CD
Packer
Rachel B
RB
Katz
Corina L
CL
Iacopetti
Jeffrey D
JD
Krimmel
Mamta K
MK
Singh
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014956:Writing / Q000592:standards*