Introduction of Case Based Learning for Teaching Anatomy in a Conventional Medical School

Anatomy which forms the foundation of medical science is perceived to be a difficult and dry subject. To make it interesting and clinically useful, good understanding of anatomical basis of diseases is required. One of the important innovative methods being used to facilitate this is case based learning (CBL). We introduced case based learning for 1st year MBBS students in 2008. Keeping in mind all-round education of students, we evaluated student's feedback concerning their perceptions towards the method, its conduct & the role of facilitator to the various aspects of CBL. The time period of the study was around nine months. One hundred students of 1st MBBS were given five paper based CBL module conducted in two sessions. The first session comprised of small group discussion amongst the students in presence of a facilitator. In the second session various groups presented their discussion outcomes. Anonymous feedback was taken from them after the end of the session & analysed. Total 83 students responded to the feedback. The percentage of students agreeing to various questions was in the range of 51 to 87%. Group discussions during CBL were able to improve the understanding of theory taught along with better problem solving and increased interaction, as agreed upon by 62, 69 and 74% of students respectively. Facilitators were found helpful by 73%; and 71% felt it was feasible to have CBL along with lectures. From our experience and students perceptions it can be concluded that CBL is a very good approach to initiate student centred learning. This also helps students to understand practical application of the theory taught to them.