Using real patients in problem-based learning: students' comments on the value of using real, as opposed to paper cases, in a problem-based learning module in general practice.

Objectives: To explore the feasibility and value of using real patients as trigger material in problem-based learning (PBL).
Design: A questionnaire was given to all students participating in a PBL module including a question about 'the added value of using real, as opposed to paper cases', in problem-based learning. Resources used by students and assessment of feasibility were recorded by the course tutors.
Setting: A 7-week student-selected problem-based module in general practice in the fourth-year undergraduate medical curriculum, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Subjects: 69 students participating in the module over 2 years.
Results: All students valued the use of real patients. A total of 10 categories were identified, all congruent with accepted educational principles for effective adult learning. Real patients stimulated the use of a very wide range of resources and imaginative presentation of what had been learned.
Conclusion: Real patients are potent trigger stimuli in problem-based learning. The use of real patients in this general practice-based module presented no organizational or ethical difficulties. Their use should be considered more widely.