An Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Practicum in Case Management and Rural Border Health

To illustrate the application of problem-based learning in a practicum, this article describes an interdisciplinary problem-based practicum in case management and rural border health. Students from pharmacy, nursing, social work, and public health live and work in a rural community located on the border between the United States and Mexico. They provide case management services to pregnant women. Students conduct home visits with lay health educators, then meet in weekly case management seminars. The seminar and the interdisciplinary database are structured to support the clinical reasoning steps of data gathering, problem synthesis, hypothesis generation, and diagnostic decision making. The problem-based learning approach appears to enhance student learning in a practicum setting.