ABSTRACT
Curricula which advocate PBL generally use case studies in some form (paper cases, simulations or real patients, etc) with the intention of stimulating classroom discussion within a problem-solving framework. While real patients and cases have always provided the framework for teaching in medicine in the clinical years (Cabot, 1906), the practice of writing cases for the basic science courses within a problem-based curriculum is relatively new (Barrows, 1984).
