Comparison of performance of graduates in traditional curriculum and graduates in an organ system integrated curriculum from the same medical school on the physician licensure examinations

ABSTRACT

Objective. To compare the performance of graduates in a traditional curriculum and graduates in an organ system integrated curriculum from the same school on the national medical licensure examination. Methods. The scores of graduates of the University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine in 2008, taught in the traditional medical curriculum were compared with those of the scores of graduates in 2009, taught under the organ system integrated curriculum, on the Physicians Licensure Examination (PLE) conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Average scores, and scores per subject were compared using t-test. Results. The graduates of the organ system integrated curriculum (2009) had higher average scores than the graduates of the traditional curriculum (2008). The former also had higher scores in Physiology, Legal Medicine, Pathology, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics. The scores of the 2 groups were not significantly different in Biochemistry, Anatomy, Pharmacology and Medicine. The graduates of the traditional curriculum had higher scores in Microbiology and Preventive Medicine. Conclusion. The graduates of the organ system integrated curriculum (2009) had better over all performance in the physician licensure examinations than the graduates of the traditional curriculum (2008).