Abstract: Objective To explore the application effect of case-based learning in surgical debridement teaching, and to provide a practical basis for the teaching reform of basic surgical skills. Methods A total of 327 five-year undergraduate students majoring in clinical medicine from Grade 2023 of our university were selected and randomly divided into an observation group （163 cases） and a control group （164 cases）. The control group received traditional large-class theoretical lectures combined with surgical video observation, while the observation group was taught with case-based learning. After teaching. the modified Direct Observation of Procedural Skills （DOPS） scale was used to evaluate operational skills, and the Visual Analogue Scale （VAS） was used to collect students’ subjective learning experience. Independent sample t-test was used for measurement data, and χ² test was used for enumeration data. Results The DOPS scores of preoperative preparation, mastery of debridement operation, aseptic operation specification, postoperative treatment, and overall operation performance in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the direct operation time and teaching feedback time were significantly shorter （P<0.05）. VAS evaluation showed that the proportions of positive evaluations in clinical learning interest, self-study ability improvement, knowledge mastery, learning initiative, and problem-solving ability in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group （P<0.05）. Conclusion Case-based learning can address problems of gap between theory and clinical practice, overemphasis on operation over thinking, and passive learning in traditional debridement teaching. It can effectively improve the debridement skills and clinical thinking of medical students, works better than the traditional teaching mode, and can be applied in basic surgical courses.

Key words: Case-based learning, Surgical skills, Debridement, Teaching reform, Clinical thinking