Life and learning and learning about life : an educational experience facilitating the development of lifelong learning skills utilising a mental health case study

This paper undertakes an analysis of a problem based learning (PBL) package which is designed to facilitate the development of lifelong learning skills in health professionals and persons who encounter and/or work with those people who have a mental illness. The PBL package, a structured learning experience utilizing a progressive case study of a serious mental illness, schizophrenia, is based on a client's experience, and therefore presents situations and events that are commonly encountered in clinical practice. With 1 in 5 Australians having a mental illness, learning how to deal with these disorders has now become a challenge for everyone. Problem based learning is effective in the development of such competencies, attributes that if nurtured carefully remain with us for life. Discussion of the development of these attributes, which are facilitated and nurtured by the utilization of a PBL package, forms the basis of this paper.