Canadian Medical Education Journal
Canadian Medical Education Journal
Canadian Medical Education Journal
Available at http://www.cmej.ca
2011 Garcia-Jardon, Bhat, Blanco Blanco and Kwizera; licensee Synergies Partners
This is an Open Journal Systems article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background: Integrated problem-based learning (PBL) is now an accepted method of teaching the medical
curriculum. The objective of this study was to determine perceptions of PBL from third year students in the MBChB
(Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery/Chirurgery) program at Walter Sisulu University, South Africa.
Methods: Year three students in the MBChB program at Walter Sisulu University were administered a
questionnaire. The 11-item questionnaire measured students perceptions of the integrated PBL curriculum.
Questions addressed course content, objectives, and application, as well as impact on learner stress.
Results: More than half of the students reported that the curriculum enhanced analytical skills, and was reasoning
and learning centered. Almost 70% of the students thought that the desired goals and objectives were clearly
defined and about 90% stated that they could recognize discipline interrelations. While 61.7% of students reported
that the curriculum facilitated active learning opportunities, more than 70% stated that it increased the workload
and stress levels. About half of the students expressed overall satisfaction with the level of content integration.
Conclusion: Students generally presented favorable perceptions of the integrated MBChB-III PBL curriculum. There
were concerns about the associated heavy workload and stress. Student counseling with respect to time and stress
management coupled with improvements in curriculum design would be helpful in addressing this issue.
Correspondence: Dr Vivek G Bhat, Dept. of Medical Microbiology, Advanced Center for Treatment, Research and
Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Kharghar, Navi Mumbai-410210, India. E-mail: vivekbhat2005@yahoo.com
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Introduction
Methods
Results
The percentage of students who endorsed each
question is shown in Figure 1. Responses of strongly
agreed and agreed were categorized as agreed; and
responses of strongly disagreed and disagreed were
grouped together as disagreed.
Discussion
This study determined that students at Walter Sisulu
University MBChB-III consider the PBL program an
innovative and useful model for learning in medicine.
Integrated curricula have been defined or described in
various ways; most of these include aspects like
combination of subjects, relationships among concepts,
sources that extend learning beyond textbooks like
journals and the internet, emphasis on projects, and
2
flexible student schedules. The intended goal of PBL in
the MBChB course is to produce a well trained, qualified
medical professional who can render health services in
real life situations. For this, the course content must
foster a healthy development of concerned skills and
competencies. In our study we found that most
students considered the curriculum useful in several
areas. They reported that it improved their analytical
skills, addressed reasoning and problem solving, and
encouraged initiative in their learning. We believe we
achieved these outcomes by conceptualizing and
designing our case simulations to challenge students
with real life situations, followed by the presentation of
facts and clues that encourage them to think logically,
formulate new hypotheses, ideas and concepts and
consider logical conclusions. Indeed, students stated
that they needed to logically consider the information in
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Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the Faculty of Health
Sciences, Walter Sisulu University and the medical
students who volunteered to participate in the study.
References
1. Bligh J. Problem-based, small group learning. BMJ.
1995;311:342-343.
6.
Kassab S, Abu-Hijleh M, Al-Shboul Q, Hamdy H. Studentled tutorials in problem based learning: Educational
outcomes and students perceptions. Med. Teacher.
2005;27:521526.
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8.
9.
Percentage
70
60
50
agree
40
neutral
30
disagree
20
10
0
Enhanced
analytical
skills
Helped me
Facilitated Increased my
Showed
Overall
recognize active learning stress load
future
satisfaction
discipline opportunities
relevance of with the level
interrelations
what was
of content
learnt
integration
e31
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