The Inverted Case Study Technique: changing the traditional case-study approach to prioritize physiological mechanisms over correct diagnosis and treatment.

The traditional case study has been used as a learning tool for the past 100 years, and in our program, graduate physiology students are presented with a real-world scenario and must determine the diagnosis and treatment of the patient. We found that students defaulted to memorization of disease with treatment and bypassed gaining an understanding of the mechanistic physiology behind disease and treatment. To adjust our student's approach, we developed a novel way to enhance student learning.