PBL case story “A Case for Erna” integrating oral health into the 5th-year geriatrics course¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

A clinical case story embedded in the mandatory Leipzig PBL course “Medicine of Aging and the Aging Person”, in which an older patient newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes develops severe periodontitis and later a heart attack. The article states that “The pathology of periodontitis, its diagnostics and therapy, and its possible effects on systemic inflammatory diseases were newly introduced to the students”, alongside oral examination training. Students work in tutor groups of up to nine with a trained tutor over a 90-minute live session plus preparation and follow-up.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Tutors who completed a one-week medical education course and mandatory preparation sessions
A detailed teaching guide and a catalog of learning objectives

Constraints¶

Delivered as live online sessions in summer 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions
The two-day case format was judged possibly too short to address all topics with due intensity

Target Learners¶

5th-year undergraduate medical students

Learning Goals¶

Knowledge of oral-systemic disease interdependencies
Confidence in performing oral examinations and identifying at-risk patients
Appreciation of interprofessional collaboration with dentists

Claims¶

Problem Based Learning

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

Pöschel Katharina, Geier Anne-Kathrin, Frese Thomas, Schmalz Gerhard, Schrimpf Anne Marie, Bleckwenn Markus, Ziebolz Dirk, Deutsch Tobias. (2026). Raising medical students’ awareness for the interdependence between oral health and systemic diseases - evaluation of a problem-based learning intervention: an exploratory pilot study. BMC Primary Care. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-026-03323-4

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`a-case-for-erna-pbl-oral-health-case`
`title`	`PBL case story “A Case for Erna” integrating oral health into the 5th-year geriatrics course`
`description`	`A clinical case story embedded in the mandatory Leipzig PBL course “Medicine of Aging and the Aging Person”, in which an older patient newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes develops severe periodontitis and later a hea...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-11-05`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `pöschel-katharina-2026`

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