Medical education challenges in mainland China: the attractiveness of Problem-based learning

Background: In the recent years, the increasing health care needs and the stricter learning requirements for medical students have led to a mismatch between what is taught at medical school and the actual skills to provide health care service in China,which also have brought challenges to medical teachers and students.The Chinese medical educators, thus, are pursuing new teaching methods to overcome the mismatch and Problem-based learning(PBL) responds to the situation. The current model of medical education is urgently needed to change. Methods: In this paper, we count the number of published articles according to PBL from mainland China and summary the current adoption situations and the typical challenges of PBL in medical education in mainland China. Results: The number of published articles according to PBL from mainland China increases with time in this decade.There are still unresolved application issues from both tutors and students regarding the adjustment to this highly resource-intensive pedagogy Conclusions: The number of colleges adopting PBL has been gradually increasing. This new learning model places hopes on Chinese medical educators who would optimize the educational outcomes based on a clear understanding of the PBL process, principle and practice. We expect that PBL can resolve the medical educational challenges in mainland China.