Application and evaluation of problem-based learning in undergraduate clinical education in 2014-2018

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Objectives: In recent years, the rapid development of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Chinese medical colleges and universities is a self-directed learning mode comprising student- centered, issue-based and discussion-centered. This study evaluates the quality of PBL implementation and examines factors that affect the medical learning effect. Methods: Based on the continuous application of PBL course among 234 of undergraduates majoring in clinical medicine from 2014 to 2018, we assessed the learning effect and curriculum implementation through examination and questionnaire. Results: PBL preliminarily promotes the learning abilities of medical students in several aspects, including literature inquiry ability (83.76%), autonomous learning ability (74.79%), teamwork ability (60.26%), interpersonal communication ability (61.11%), language expression ability (72.22%) and critical thinking ability (53.85%). However, further analysis reveals that there are still many underlying issues to be solved, such as rapid decrease of learning interest and involvement, low learning efficiency in unit time, etc. We make a thorough discussion and put forward some recommendations. Conclusions: This study indicates that PBL is an effective learning mode for undergraduate medical education, which would be beneficial by flexible adjustment of PBL curriculum practice, applying different cases in accordance with student's aptitude and enhancing the training of experienced clinical tutors.