Case Creation
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Introduction
In preparing the case, consider the following:
- who is the target audience?
- what topics will the case involve?
- what knowledge, skills, and attitudes do you want to assist the learners in consolidating?
Technical considerations
Feel free to write the case in a Word document or a Powerpoint; we'll take the content and embed it within our website, taking care of the formatting details.
Please review our Open-Access license to be sure you agree with our terms, and feel free to ask any questions you'd like before moving forward!
General advice
Ideally, cases strengthen core understanding of the topics. Unusual presentations or diagnoses are certainly valuable to cover, but if the case covers a topic that is extremely rare, it may not be the most relevant for learning.
Some distractors or superfluous information can be helpful to add complexity and ambiguity (which is certainly, but too much can cause frustration and confusion. Consider leaving out unnecessary details.
Avoid giving hints through the title, leading questions, etc.
While we certainly embrace flexibilty, there is a template that most cases follow:
Introduction
Begin with a short description of the case's objectives, primarily to engage the learner. However, if there is an unexpected diagnosis embedded, it is a good idea not to include this. Instead, focus on diagnosis and management of the initial clinical presentation.
Introduce the case with a clinical presentation, with initial background information. Some distractions can be added as appropriate. Begin simply, and don't provide too much information.
Ideally a picture is included; this need not be the actual patient, but rather simply an image that engages the reader.
End with 1-3 open-ended questions, such as:
- what further questions would you ask?
- what would you look for on physical exam?
- what is your differential diagnosis at this point?
- what initial management might you want to begin (if situation is acute)
Provide answers of 1-3 sentences. We will provide a link to relevant in-depth background content as appropriate.
Progression, Part I
Introduce further information from history, physical exam, tests, or simply the passage of time.
Again, a picture is helpful to brighten the case.
Provide further questions, such as:
- what is your differential diagnosis at this point?
- what management do you institute?
- interpret these results (labs, ECG, chest X ray, etc)
As above, provide short answers, expecting a link to background information.
Progression, Part II
Continue the case as the story dictates. At this point, information gathering should be largely complete, though further investigation may be warranted as conditions change.
This last set of questions should focus on more complex intepretation of findings or results, as well as ongoing management.
Conclusion
Finish with a short description of how the case concluded. The ending should be realistic.
Provide a more complete summary of the competencies you hope the learner has grown in, broken down into:
- knowledge
- clinical reasoning
- skills
- attitudes
Links to relevant background materials will also be provided here.
Completion of the case should ideally lead to independent assessment tools linked to the above competencies.
After writing the case, find a reviewer or two to ensure the level of difficulty is sufficient, and that there are no content or style errors.
Resources and References
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