About The Materials

Module Format

Each module contains a 2-3 part case narrative, handouts, clinical pearls, knowledge questions and answers, an annotated bibliography, and a comprehensive facilitator’s (or teacher’s) guide specific to the individual case. The materials are designed in a manner that allows teaching sessions to be conducted by either faculty or properly prepared trainees or to be used for individual learning and remote access. The curriculum thus provides flexibility both in setting and timing, allowing educators to meet the needs of educating learners in the evolving era of duty hour limitations. The best way to understand the construction of these cases is to print one, and then use this page to guide you through each section. Narratives and relevant handouts can either be distributed to learners during the course of the discussion, or are available as part of a powerpoint presentation.

Case Studies

Cases are available for download in the Cases and Topics section. From this page you will be able to view a brief overview of the case title and topic, as well as the educational objectives.

Downloading Adobe Acrobat

To download the complete case module, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. If you do not already have it, you may download it from here, free of charge:

http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Download Problems?

If you encounter any problems please check the Adobe web site for more information and for an alternate download location. There is also an email option to get the materials: cases@childrens.harvard.edu

Case Narrative

Most case narratives are divided into three parts. Part I describes how the patient first presented in the primary care setting and prompts a discussion of the differential diagnosis. Part II presents additional information on further history, physical examination and diagnostic tests and prompts a discussion of treatment possibilities. The third part of the case is the Epilogue, designed to give learners a general idea of the patient’s outcome.

Handouts

Handouts supply supplemental information to the case narrative (e.g., Growth chart, visual exam findings, psychological test results), and are distributed during the course of the case discussion; for those who wish to limit paper printouts, powerpoint presentations can be downloaded and used as an alternative. Handouts that summarize evidence based guidelines are distributed at the end of the teaching session. Specific suggestions on how handouts should be used are included in the Facilitator’s Guide.

Clinical Pearls

A bulleted list of the key take home points mirroring the educational objectives are included for each case.

Knowledge questions (and answers) for learners

A series of multiple choice questions relevant to each case as well as a short explanation of why each answer choice is correct or incorrect are also included as part of the post learning assessment process.

References and Annotated Bibliography

Each case includes a bibliography. Several citations, usually general reviews or book chapters, are chosen for brief annotation and listed under “Suggested Readings.” Where appropriate, the reference page includes contact information for national organizations (e.g., National Down Syndrome Congress) and educational resources on the World Wide Web.

Facilitators Guide

This section begins with the case title, authors and reviewers, educational objectives and suggested facilitator preparation. The following pages present a step-by-step guide to teaching the case. Prompts for the facilitator (e.g. Distribute Part II of the case narrative) are indicated by bold-face type. Brief discussions of key teaching points are included after each guide question. This guide is intended for use by facilitators (teachers) and not designed to be handed out to learners (students).

Materials for Learners

A separate PDF will include relevant supplemental information (e.g. treatment guidelines), clinical pearls, knowledge questions & answers, and references to be handed out to learners (students)

Powerpoint Presentations

Case narratives and relevant handouts (e.g., Growth chart, visual exam findings, psychological test results) have been included in powerpoint presentations that can be downloaded as an alternative to distributing paper copies.