Describes the difficulties Argentina's medical schools are likely to face in implementing a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. Outlines the basic requirements for successful implementation of PBL curricula and describes the contradiction in Argentina between a health care system that forces specialization and the efforts of medical schools…

Describes a four-week rotation at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn in which medical residents are taught community health assessment using a problem-based format. They use demographic and health data to create rates they believe will help to illuminate the health status and health issues of their assigned…

Discusses clinical problem analysis (CPA) in medical education, an approach to solving complex clinical problems. Outlines the five step CPA model and examines the value of CPA's content-independent (methodical) approach. Argues that teaching students to use CPA will enable them to avoid common diagnostic reasoning errors and pitfalls. Compares…

A study investigated student use of a collection of self-directed anatomy learning modules designed to help students prepare for tutorial discussions of health care problems. The surveyed students (n=80) reported that module use depended on program level and premedical background in biology, not on tutor or preceptor requirements. Students who…

Examined faculty attitudes toward a new problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum at Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, surveying 115 participants in the new curriculum and 96 nonparticipants. Participants judged the PBL curriculum to be superior in most respects to the old curriculum, whereas nonparticipants judged both to be about equal. (MDM)

Research reveals that successful problem solvers must possess comprehensive knowledge, and more importantly, have appropriate knowledge organization and understanding. A new taxonomy of medical problems is recommended, and it is suggested that the traditional hypothetico-deductive strategy for problem-based learning be replaced by scheme-driven…

Field testing of a series of group-learning units in pharmacology based on a patient-oriented problem-solving approach found that the units were well crafted and that students had higher scores on tests of their knowledge of pharmacology after they had used the units. (Author/DB)

Critical review of the literature on problem-based learning (PBL) in medical education focuses on: (1) the credibility of claims (both empirical and theoretical) about the ties between PBL and educational outcomes and (2) the magnitude of the effects. Concludes there is no convincing evidence that PBL improves knowledge base and clinical…

Students in a problem-oriented alternative medical curriculum at Michigan State University used the same problem-based methods for curriculum improvement that are used to solve clinical problems. Students worked with faculty toward constructive curricular revision. (MSE)

Concept maps are used at the Cornell University (New York) college of veterinary medicine for curriculum planning, particularly development of problem-based cases for classroom use. The maps help prioritize concepts, refine objectives and details, articulate links between aspects of a case, and support overall course design. (MSE)

In this study of students (N=112) invited to participate in a hematology-transfusion medicine tutorial, it was found that students (N=59) receiving problem-based instruction did more poorly than controls on short-term examination but maintained their knowledge after two years better than control groups. (MLW)

A study compared results of 2 teaching methods, traditional Socratic method (22 students) and a problem-based curriculum (35 students) in a University of Kentucky medical school surgery clerkship. Results showed the problem-based method resulted in similar knowledge level but improved clinical problem-solving skills. (Author/MSE)

A University of Limburg (Netherlands) medical school study investigated the relationship between student-generated learning issues and faculty instructional objectives (i.e., the effectiveness of the problems posed) in a problem-centered obstetrics and child development curriculum. Subjects were 120 students and 12 faculty. Results indicated…

Performances on Steps 1 and 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) were compared for classes that had completed a new problem-based learning curriculum and for previous, traditionally instructed classes at the University of Missouri Columbia School of Medicine. Students in the problem-based learning curriculum outperformed…

Review of experimental evidence concerning the effectiveness of problem-based learning suggests that the approach may not improve content-free problem solving; may initially reduce learning levels but fosters long-term retention; may enhance transfer of concepts and integration of concepts into clinical problems; enhances intrinsic interest of…