PBL - More time to study for the Comlex/USMLE?

[thomasfx10]

I was talking with a DO that I have been shadowing and told him that I was interested in DO schools that have PBL. I asked him what he thought about PBL (He has been a DO in practice for 37 years). He said that he wished they had PBL when he went to school. He said they spent so much time teaching subjects that he did not use (On exams and later on).

I am sure the teaching has changed over the past 37 years, however it did get me wondering if going the PBL route would allow more time to focus on what is going to be Comlex and USMLE.

For those that have taking PBL, did you find that you had more time study for Complex/USMLE than your peers that went the lecture route?

Thanks!

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[bongobingo]

I was talking with a DO that I have been shadowing and told him that I was interested in DO schools that have PBL. I asked him what he thought about PBL (He has been a DO in practice for 37 years). He said that he wished they had PBL when he went to school. He said they spent so much time teaching subjects that he did not use (On exams and later on).

I am sure the teaching has changed over the past 37 years, however it did get me wondering if going the PBL route would allow more time to focus on what is going to be Comlex and USMLE.

For those that have taking PBL, did you find that you had more time study for Complex/USMLE than your peers that went the lecture route?

Thanks!

Disclaimer: am only a future med student.
It is true that pbl offers the least amount of classroom instruction. But system-based curriculums are not much behind. Instead of 2hrs 3x/wk they tend to have 3hrs 5x/wk. They're similar in that you take 1 exam every couple of weeks instead of studying for several classes at a time.
But in system-based curriculum professors sometimes offer really good lecture handouts. Sometimes you dont even have to come to class. You just read their lecture handouts. And in addition you can buy previous year's lecture transcripts which are usually identical to what he's going to say in the present lecture. You read it and you don't even need to come to class, you got all the material right there. But if you want you come in. Then you just sit there and use that time to review the material so you memorize it better. It may not always coincide 100% with usmle material. But it's still a good deal. With PBL u have to come in to class but you dont really learn anything. You just discuss what textbook chapters you are going to read next. And while some texts are good, texts in embryology and anatomy kind of suck...

I guess either way you'll have to study like it's a full-time job. No matter how you slice it you can't just chill and expect to magically become a doctor. Thats my problem.

 

[WingedOx]

given the fact that most med students rarely attend class, the amount of time spent instructing is kinda irrelevant. PBL is good for a few things... efficiency is NOT one of them.

 

[cliquesh]

I go to a system-based school, and I have no experience with PBL, but if I could do it again I'd pick PBL. Seems like you could study board-relavant material for two years. You get a lot of board material from lectures too, but you also get a lot of random clinical stuff that won't be on the boards.

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

Disclaimer: am only a future med student.
It is true that pbl offers the least amount of classroom instruction. But system-based curriculums are not much behind. Instead of 2hrs 3x/wk they tend to have 3hrs 5x/wk.

Which system-based curriculums were you looking at? Most system-based curriculums I was looking at had hours that ranged from 6-8hrs 5x/wk.

 

[megathunder]

I go to a system-based school, and I have no experience with PBL, but if I could do it again I'd pick PBL. Seems like you could study board-relavant material for two years. You get a lot of board material from lectures too, but you also get a lot of random clinical stuff that won't be on the boards.

What about the part of being a physician that requires being adept at noticing and evaluating that "clinical stuff"?

I don't understand this dogma behind boards being the end all be all of medical school. I understand it's an important step in your education, but I would rather train to become a skilled physician in the hospital environment and let success on the boards come as a byproduct of that.

That's why I'm migrating across the country to go to a systems-based school. I think the instruction you get is more important than how much free time you have to goof off or ignore professors who you're paying to teach you.

 

[nlax30]

I did PBL at LECOM-Bradenton as I knew I did not want a lecture based curriculum.

Overall I was extremely happy by it. I think you can do well on the boards no matter what curriculum you go to, the largest variable is YOU, not the style of the school.

That said, you do need learn how to be disciplined in keeping up with studying AND figuring out WHAT and in what amount of detail to do well in PBL. You basically have your textbooks as the guide and if you haven't seen the Robin's Pathology yet, well.... it's a huge. There are TON of lectures online, access to videos, and review books available to help give you a general outline with that the most important points of a particular topic were.

I don't think one way is inherently better than the other in regards to prep for board exams, more of which one is better for YOU.

And I don't think it really gives a huge advantage in having more time for board studying. Keep in mind everything you're doing those first 2 years is basically stuff you need for the boards. I'd say actual dedicated board studying didn't start for most students until at some point in 2nd year when they started on a question bank or working their way through review books.

 

[cliquesh]

What about the part of being a physician that requires being adept at noticing and evaluating that "clinical stuff"?

I don't understand this dogma behind boards being the end all be all of medical school. I understand it's an important step in your education, but I would rather train to become a skilled physician in the hospital environment and let success on the boards come as a byproduct of that.

That's why I'm migrating across the country to go to a systems-based school. I think the instruction you get is more important than how much free time you have to goof off or ignore professors who you're paying to teach you.

You are not going to remember much of the random clinical stuff you are taught during your first two years. You will learn that stuff during your 3rd and 4th years, and, more likely, in your residency, and you are not going to get a good residency without good board scores. It's not like it matters much either way, though.

 

[zac16125]

For those that have taking PBL, did you find that you had more time study for Complex/USMLE than your peers that went the lecture route?

Thanks!

I would say most certainly yes. I didn't open a full sized text book my entire 4th semester. I instead used only review books/question books, which I found to be somewhat helpful on the boards. In fact, if I could do it again, I would have done that the entire 2nd year, instead of just second semester. I don't think you can pull that off in a standard curriculum where you are being introduced to topics for the first time in your 4th semester. That being said, PBL is not for everyone and some ppl can't seem to deal with it, but if you find lectures to be a ridiculous waste of time as I do, then its a great option.

What about the part of being a physician that requires being adept at noticing and evaluating that "clinical stuff"?

I feel PBL prepared me very well in terms of 3rd year core "clinical stuff". You start looking at hospital lab test results and thinking about what studies to order from the first day you hit medical school, and its reinforced throughout your first two years.

One more thing, if you think your first two years of medical school has anything to do with clinical medicine you are grossly incorrect. Its actually pretty silly the depth of information in the basic sciences you are required to know that you will never use in practice.