Integrated PBL and medical humanities teaching model organized around a single representative clinical case with humanities embedded throughout¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The experimental intervention organized pathology laboratory teaching around a single representative clinical case of hepatitis B-related liver cirrhosis with complications, serving as "the core instructional context throughout the intervention". Students worked in small groups to identify clinical and pathological problems, formulate diagnostic hypotheses, and define learning objectives, then integrated self-directed learning outside class with microscopic examination during the laboratory session. Medical humanities education was "embedded throughout the PBL process", with humanistic elements such as disease burden, ethical considerations, communication challenges, stigma, and social responsibility incorporated into group discussions and reflections. The session concluded with each group presenting a structured summary of pathological findings, clinicopathological correlations, and humanistic considerations.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Instructors underwent standardized training to ensure consistency in teaching content, instructional procedures, facilitation strategies, and evaluation criteria
Access to an institutional digital pathology slide repository for self-directed exploration of gross and microscopic morphologic features

Constraints¶

The model places higher demands on instructors' facilitation skills and humanistic competence, requires greater student engagement and preparation, and often necessitates additional instructional time and organizational resources
Inappropriate case selection or insufficient instructional guidance may result in superficial discussions of humanistic issues insufficiently connected to the intended learning objectives

Target Learners¶

second-year undergraduate anesthesiology students

Learning Goals¶

pathology laboratory skills including microscopic image interpretation
clinicopathological reasoning
medical humanities competencies including empathy, ethical awareness, and communication skills

Claims¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

Wang Sufen, Shen Jun, Qiang Banghong, Xu Honghai, Huang Xiaomei, Wang Lizheng. (2026). An integrated teaching model combining PBL and medical humanities education for pathology laboratory teaching: a randomized controlled study. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09701-x

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`integrated-pbl-humanities-case-based-pattern`
`title`	`Integrated PBL and medical humanities teaching model organized around a single representative clinical case with humanities embedded throughout`
`description`	`The experimental intervention organized pathology laboratory teaching around a single representative clinical case of hepatitis B-related liver cirrhosis with complications, serving as "the core instructional context...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-11-04`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `wang-sufen-2026`

Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.