Clinical cases created by Medical students in the development of clinical reasoning: a systematic review

Introduction: Clinical reasoning, fundamental in the healthcare context, encompasses data collection and diagnostic formulation. Case-based teaching and problem-based learning integrate clinical skills and promote professional development, but the potential of the student-generated clinical case strategy is still little explored. Objective: This systematic review aims to analyze the construction of clinical cases by students as an effective pedagogical strategy in medical education. Method: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA protocol, searching five scientific article indexers using keywords related to “clinical reasoning,” “case construction” and “medical students.” The screening of titles and abstracts, the full reading of selected articles, and data extraction were carried out by two independent reviewers. Demographic data, employed methodologies, and teaching strategies were collected. Results and conclusions were presented, along with an analysis of the risk of bias in the studies. Results: Initially, 1,970 papers were identified. After screening titles and abstracts, 25 articles were selected for full reading, of which 6 were included in the systematic review. The methods for constructing clinical cases exhibited considerable diversity in form and content, involving between 11 and 315 students from the 1st to the 4th year of medical undergraduate studies, with activities spread over periods ranging from 1 day to 4 weeks. Overall, this strategy was deemed appropriate by the authors. Conclusions: The construction of clinical cases by students represents a valuable strategy for the development of Clinical Reasoning in medical education, contributing to the training of more qualified and reflective professionals. There is evidence that it can be useful in medical training as a complementary method, rather than a substitute, for traditional teaching methods.