A systematic review of case-based learning in undergraduate medical laboratory science.

Medical laboratory science (MLS) is an essential component of the modern healthcare system. Up to 70% of medical and clinical decision making cannot be made without medical laboratory science input, however recent workforce reports have identified a lack of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:New Zealand Journal of Medical Laboratory Science Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 9 - 16
Autores principales: Christoff-Tzazaroff, Janelle, King, Rebecca M., Cassady, Ian, Singh, Indu
Formato: research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science Mar2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Medical laboratory science (MLS) is an essential component of the modern healthcare system. Up to 70% of medical and clinical decision making cannot be made without medical laboratory science input, however recent workforce reports have identified a lack of multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary thinking as a gap in medical laboratory science graduate skills. Schools of medicine have used case-based learning (CBL) extensively to integrate disciplines and demonstrate multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and holistic approaches to patient care. In contrast, the use of case-based learning in medical laboratory science to integrate laboratory disciplines to improve student understanding and critical thinking is poorly reported. This paper aims to systematically review the existing literature surrounding case-based learning in undergraduate medical laboratory science teaching. A search was performed on four databases (PubMed, Scopus, World of Science, and Medline), which identified a total of 11,135 studies, of which four studies were eligible for inclusion in this review. These were cohort studies that compared case-based learning as a method of delivery to traditional or lecture-based learning (LBL). They assessed student satisfaction and exam outcomes between groups with slight variations in their methods. All four studies focused on single disciplines within medical laboratory science with little emphasis on the multidisciplinary nature of medical laboratory science, however, all of them aimed to develop their medical laboratory science curricula and demonstrated high student satisfaction and higher exam scores compared to lecture-based learning. Further research should be conducted to determine the effectiveness of case-based learning in its ability integrate medical laboratory science disciplines and to standardize a method of evaluation for case-based learning.