Effect of problem based learning in basic medical sciences

ABSTRACT

Jinnah Medical and Dental College is a private institution determined to train inethcal students into competent and humane doctors. The college is affiliated with University of Karachi and observes the conventional type of MBBS curriculum with two years of basic and three yecirs of clinical science training. Biochemistry is the basic medical science course, which is introduced in fIrst two years. Learning biochemistry has been passive through lecture-based strategy. Through problem based learning [PBL] students are actively involved and recognize deficiencies in their knowledge qf basic sciences and f ill up the gaps via self-learning. [l] To identify the attitude of students towards learning of basic medical course [Biochemistry] in innovative curriculum with PBL as the principle mode of information transfer, [2] To compare the university results of the students trained through two curricula. A cross-sectional analytical study. Jinnah Medical and Dental College, Karachi during the academic year 2003 - 2004. Fifty-four students of batch -4 were asked to fill an anonymous questionnaire regarding 30 PBL sessions they were exposed to, during the academic year March 2003 till January 2004. The responses were analyzed using Chi-Square test. The results of first professional part B MBBS annual examination conducted by university of Karachi for batch - 3 [n=71] and 4 [n=54] were compared using student's t-test. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 10.0. Significant number of the students found PBL as a useful study aid and agreed that basic science knowledge is applicable and can easily he correlated with the clinical science knowledge [87% and 79.62%, p<0.05]. These sessions helped them to internalize habit of giving evidence-based answers and enabled them to acquire habit of doing positive criticism in group-discussions and to tolerate it patiently [88.8%, 87%, p<0.05]. Them was significant difference between the results of two classes exposed to conventional and problem-based curricula [p<0.05], probably it is due to the method of examination, which is totally conventional. The study results strongly favour introduction of problem-based learning as the mode of information transfer in basic sciences, but it should be implemented in combination with the traditional learning methods to provide effective training to the undergraduate medical students