The Deficiencies of the Case Presentation as a Method of Clinical Teaching

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Abstract
The case-presentation method is limited by its lack of attention to the technics of clinical-data collection and its tendency to deal with abstractions rather than with patients. A better approach is to have the student first interview the patient briefly before the group. His technic is discussed, and the data derived therefrom collated. Participants then indicate what diagnostic hypotheses may be generated from this limited material and on what they base their hypotheses. They are then asked to identify additional information from interview, physical examination and laboratory studies required to test the validity of their hypotheses. The student who worked up the patient acts as a resource and supplies this information, but the group may also return to the bedside to show directly how such data may be elicited. The instructor may also demonstrate how he handles limited data and how he works with the patient.

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