Evaluation of a Cardiovascular Therapeutics Case‐Based Learning Activity

Abstract

Physician Assistant students at the University of Texas Medical Branch often struggle with learning how patient characteristics affect cardiovascular therapeutic treatment choice. We implemented a case‐based learning (CBL) activity in the cardiovascular therapeutics module to address this problem.The pre‐work for the CBL was the module lectures. Students completed an individual pre‐activity quiz then worked in small groups to discuss six cardiovascular cases. Each case included questions related to choosing the most appropriate treatments based on patient characteristics such as age or comorbidities, as well as the pharmacological characteristics of the drugs. Groups recorded their answers in a worksheet that was submitted for grading. The CBL concluded with an individual post‐activity quiz. Optional pre‐ and post‐session surveys evaluated their level of confidence in their knowledge as well as their satisfaction with the CBL.Prior to the CBL, 74% of survey respondents indicated they lacked confidence in their knowledge of cardiovascular therapeutics. Following the activity, only 26% of respondents indicated they still lacked confidence in their knowledge of these topics. Students enjoyed working and discussing in their groups, having realistic complex patient cases, figuring out how patient characteristics alter medication choice, and thought the cases helped guide their studying for the subsequent exam. Ideas for improvement of the CBL included utilizing smaller learning groups, reducing the number of cases, adding additional time to the activity, and adding a large group discussion to review the case answers.Overall, the response to the CBL was largely positive and the feedback will be useful for improving the session when it is next deployed. This type of activity can be used to reinforce material for other pharmacology topics students find difficult.