The virtual cases provided deliberate practice with clinical reasoning, COPC principles, and osteopathic diagnosis and treatment. In a 2016 study,
7 student clinical reasoning and awareness of COPC were measured using pre- and posttest data, case analytics, student responses to case debriefs, and tutor feedback for 8 VCHC cases. For a cohort of 93 first-year students, significant improvement in clinical reasoning was found.
7 Student teams of 3 to 4 learners worked through 8 cases, and teams received a mean overall score of 74.7 out of 100 possible points. Individual scores improved between pre- and posttests, with a mean gain of 15.4 points (
P<.001).
7 Case debriefs allowed students the opportunity to discuss patient care, family-oriented care, and treatment options, including OMT. Tutors reported that students were absorbed in the case studies, an indication of flow and situational cognitive engagement. This finding was corroborated by a separate study that relied on photographic evidence of student affect and participation.
18 Several issues surfaced during this referenced study. Due to time constraints within the small group sessions, it was difficult to require multiple-choice assessments for each case that had enough test items and that were aligned to course examinations. The case scoring system needed refinement, and the cases had too many branching pathways.