Enhancing Healthcare Education: The Power of Case Studies

Case studies are a great way to promote active learning in a classroom. The utilization of case studies in healthcare education courses plays a vital role in enhancing learning outcomes and ensuring students are equipped with the necessary skills to excel in their careers.

What is a case study?

Case studies are fictional or real-life scenarios that present healthcare situations and require students to analyze and apply theoretical knowledge. They can serve multiple purposes, including bridging the gap between theory and practice, developing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and promoting active student participation.

How are case studies used in a classroom?

Various methods can be employed to evaluate students’ understanding and application of knowledge gained through case studies, such as individual or group presentations, written analysis papers, and role-playing or simulated patient scenarios. Measuring the effectiveness of case studies in learning outcomes can be done by collecting student feedback and evaluating their responses to the activities, as well as analyzing improvements in critical thinking, decision making, and reasoning.

What are the benefits of using case studies in a classroom?

The benefits of case study–based learning extend beyond the classroom. They provide students with the necessary skills and experience to navigate real-world challenges in their healthcare careers. Case studies help students develop critical skills such as problem solving, communication, teamwork, and ethical decision making.

How can you utilize August Learning Solutions’ classroom resources in your course?

For many of our titles, we include case study activities for you to utilize in your course. There are many ways to use these, but here are some ideas to get you started:

• Group presentations: Divide your students into teams. Give each team a case study and the questions associated with it. Have them create a presentation to give to the class outlining the patient and how they would respond to the questions and discussing the theory they employed to come to their conclusions. Allow the class to ask questions to promote discussion and understanding. This approach will encourage teamwork, a necessary skill in healthcare.
• Role-play scenarios: Divide your students into two groups, “patients” and “CNAs.” Give each patient a case study scenario and the questions associated with it. Then pair a patient with a CNA. Have the patient give the scenario and allow the CNA to respond. Role-play the care or the steps the CNA would take to care for that patient. This approach will encourage problem-solving and critical-thinking skills and test skill retention.
• Written assignments: If you’re looking for another graded assignment, consider utilizing case studies as quizzes or homework assignments. Simply give your students the case study and questions and allow them to respond. You’ll find example answers to the questions in our classroom resources, so grading these assignments will be a breeze.

We hope this inspires you to utilize our case studies in your course. If you’d like to find out more about how August Learning Solutions’ content can work for you, reach out for a free demo webinar with our team.