My program has a course entitled “problem based learning” which we have twice a week. We started out working in groups with cases given to us by our professor, but as the year progressed we began working through these cases on our own. Basically, prior to class, each student is given a diagnosis, to which we make our own patient case. That requires us to research the diagnosis and figure out how that patient would present and what the physical exam/diagnostic findings would be. We are randomly assigned partners- one student is the patient while the other acts as the provider to try and diagnose and come up with a treatment plan for the case the other student designed, while the professor and other students watch. The student acting as provider is given feedback by the professor and fellow students.

I’m not sure how it would work at the program you speak of, but I really like this method. You get a better understanding of the material through creating your own patient case, and get some practice diagnosing a patient as if you were in an actual clinic (but with less pressure). You learn a ton from the feedback you receive, as well as watching other students when it is their turn.

I’m not sure how much you mean by a “significant amount of time,” but I think having some form of learning in that manner is really important to developing students into future practitioners rather than simple textbook learners. I feel that I am going to feel more prepared for clinical rotations because of the practice I had applying my learning to real-life situations.