Better prepared for the future
"Communication skills are covered in the bachelor's programme, but these are all separate pieces of education," says Bisseling. When students complete their bachelor's degree, they have mainly covered a lot of separate pieces of theory. But ultimately, they also have to combine the theory and apply it to real patients. This was one of the reasons for starting the community. The open learning materials allow students to watch actors presenting cases that they may encounter later in practice. This enables them to integrate the elements they have learned in a virtual environment. "It's a safe setting. The student has a consultation and all aspects are discussed afterwards in the group. Once students have practised in this safe environment, they are better prepared for their master's degree and their future. All aspects of the curriculum are covered in the videos.
Virtual patient cases can contribute to better clinical reasoning in medical education. "These are realistic cases that are designed to closely resemble actual practice, but do not necessarily lead to a single diagnosis. The aim is not to make the correct diagnosis or the perfect referral, but to learn to reason what in the patient's story leads you to think in a certain direction."
Accessible to everyone
But why are these teaching materials open? ''It's a great way to ensure that the knowledge students acquire is comparable, regardless of where they study,'' says Tanya. It also benefits lecturers. They don't always see where they are focusing their attention or that they may be neglecting a particular topic. ''By sharing all this, it's easier to complement each other. Other people's teaching materials can open your eyes.’ Tanya emphasises that it is also good to vary your teaching style from time to time. ‘How wonderful is it that you can draw inspiration from others or perhaps use their material in your own lessons?''
Actuality is important
According to Tanya, there are few risks or challenges associated with sharing open patient cases. All cases are fictional and the videos are recorded with actors. ''Of course, the content of the cases must be checked regularly. We then ask ourselves whether the treatment and diagnostics are still relevant.'' Another review was carried out in 2024, so you could say that the material is up to date. ''It does require some maintenance, and as a creator, you have to feel responsible for that.''
Future: more education available for everyone
According to Tanya, the future looks bright. Utrecht has already sought to join the initiative. They also want to start producing case studies. "We hope that more students and education professionals will join us. In this way, we want to create a widely available form of education that requires individual knowledge from students, is interactive and is available to everyone within medical programmes.'' Tanya concludes with one final tip: ''Just give it a try. As a student, it can motivate you to approach the material differently, and as a lecturer, it can inspire you to present the material in a new way.''
Want to know more? Read this article in which Matthijs Doets, ICT & Education Advisor at Erasmus MC, tells you more about this topic.
Would you like to learn more about open educational resources or contribute something yourself? Visit the Open Education page or contact the Radboud Open Education team for advice on developing and sharing your own open educational resources.