Name
Adaptability, innovation, and growth: Systematic tracking of
pre-clerkship case-based learning (CBL) case changes for continuous quality
improvement
Date & Time
Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 10:57 AM - 11:12 AM
Location Name
Lamar B
Speakers
Authors
M. Tresa Chappell, MD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Ellen House, MD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Brett G. Szymik, PhD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Amy Baldwin, PhD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Casey Bassett, PhD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Tim Brown, PharmD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
DeLoris Hesse, PhD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Melanie Wooten, MD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Kim Giffen, PhD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Alanna Pimenta, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Lia Bruner, MD, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Presentation Topic(s)
Curriculum
Description
PURPOSE
Case-based learning (CBL) is an effective active learning modality in
undergraduate medical education (UME) and is central to our public state
institution’s integrated, systems-based pre-clerkship curriculum. To ensure
our cases are relevant, instructional, realistic, challenging, current,
diverse, inclusive, patient-centered, and mission-centered, we developed an
institutional process for intentional curation of our CBL case catalog. Case
changes are tracked each year to guide continuous quality improvement.
METHODS
Our Case Oversight Team, composed of clinical and foundational science
faculty with diverse experience and expertise, serve as lead editors for
cases in each systems-based module. Following annual case revisions, editors
systematically document the presence of defined attributes in each case. We
initially tracked basic patient demographics, case settings, and inclusion of
components related to whole-person care and now track 34 distinct attributes
encompassing curricular integration, complexity, realism, and representation.
Longitudinal changes were analyzed to assess alignment with institutional
priorities.
RESULTS
Progressive improvements across multiple attributes were observed. Case patient
demographics have become more representative of our state’s population, with
broader variation in age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Cases increasingly
incorporated social determinants of health, curricular components (e.g.,
ethics, clinical skills, interprofessional education), and key health topics
(e.g., mental health, substance use, preventive care). Humanizing details
such as religious background and emotional expressions have become more
prevalent. These trends demonstrate improved representation of our state’s
population and enhanced complexity, authenticity, and curricular integration
across our case catalog, reflecting successful alignment with institutional
priorities.
CONCLUSION
CBL cases should align with institutional missions, curricular objectives,
and the patient populations learners will serve and are most effective when
they are humanistic, contemporary, and realistic. An intentional curation
process with systematic tracking can serve as a sustainable model for
continuous quality improvement in UME programs to ensure curricular goals are
met.
Case-based learning (CBL) is an effective active learning modality in
undergraduate medical education (UME) and is central to our public state
institution’s integrated, systems-based pre-clerkship curriculum. To ensure
our cases are relevant, instructional, realistic, challenging, current,
diverse, inclusive, patient-centered, and mission-centered, we developed an
institutional process for intentional curation of our CBL case catalog. Case
changes are tracked each year to guide continuous quality improvement.
METHODS
Our Case Oversight Team, composed of clinical and foundational science
faculty with diverse experience and expertise, serve as lead editors for
cases in each systems-based module. Following annual case revisions, editors
systematically document the presence of defined attributes in each case. We
initially tracked basic patient demographics, case settings, and inclusion of
components related to whole-person care and now track 34 distinct attributes
encompassing curricular integration, complexity, realism, and representation.
Longitudinal changes were analyzed to assess alignment with institutional
priorities.
RESULTS
Progressive improvements across multiple attributes were observed. Case patient
demographics have become more representative of our state’s population, with
broader variation in age, gender, race, and ethnicity. Cases increasingly
incorporated social determinants of health, curricular components (e.g.,
ethics, clinical skills, interprofessional education), and key health topics
(e.g., mental health, substance use, preventive care). Humanizing details
such as religious background and emotional expressions have become more
prevalent. These trends demonstrate improved representation of our state’s
population and enhanced complexity, authenticity, and curricular integration
across our case catalog, reflecting successful alignment with institutional
priorities.
CONCLUSION
CBL cases should align with institutional missions, curricular objectives,
and the patient populations learners will serve and are most effective when
they are humanistic, contemporary, and realistic. An intentional curation
process with systematic tracking can serve as a sustainable model for
continuous quality improvement in UME programs to ensure curricular goals are
met.