I am a second year PBL student at Lecom, and I agree with Dr. Sax. After spending 12 weeks in lecture for Gross Anatomy, I don't know how people tolerate 2 years of lecture based learning. Here are the things I like about PBL at Lecom:
1. Flexible schedule - I decide what time to study and what topic to study. Since I tend to be more of a night owl, I usually start studying sometime in the mid afternoon. It works better for me.
2. Self (or group) directed learning - We choose the topics that we study, and we cover almost every major topic twice. Sometimes the process is a little fuzzy when selecting learning issues, particularly if two groups want to pursue different areas of study. However, over 2 years, it's worked out amazingly well.
3. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love studying in my pajamas!!!😉
4. The PBL group is generally a tight knit group. Sure, there are disagreements. However, we get along very well as a whole.
5. Finally, the PBL pathway has done well at Lecom. Board scores have been great, and clinically, the PBL students are well prepared. Every case is an opportunity to practice history and physicals. We have several chances to practice different skills on real patients throughout our basic science years. This year, our class had the opportunity to take the shelf exam to gauge our progress, and the majority of our PBL class passed without studying prior to the exam. Also, although this always causes a great deal of debate, last year's PBL board scores were nearly 50 points higher than their LDP counterparts. My point here is not to say that PBL is better than LDP. I just want to point out that we are doing at least as well as they are.
What do I dislike about PBL at Lecom:
1. Test questions - (doesn't everyone?) The faculty at Lecom doesn't always recognize that PBL students' ONLY study out of textbooks. We don't attend lectures. There have been many cases where test questions have come from sources other than the required texts. To be fair, these questions are usually dropped.
2. Lack of socialization - Since we don't go to school everyday, your best friend tends to become your couch. Some days, I think it's tougher on my husband having me there, because I can't just hang out. There's usually a "Do Not Disturb" look on my face throughout the day. The key here - take time out of every day (at least one hour) to do something off of the couch. Go to dinner with family or friends. Go for a walk. Catch a movie. Join a softball league. Anything.
Sorry for the long post. Hope that this answers some of your questions!