Originally posted by Panda Bear
Could someone please explain to me what a typical day is like in a "Problem Based Learning" curriculum. Is it true that you all don't have lectures? How do you all like it?
It is important to realize that not all PBL curricula are the same. Different schools implement it in different ways. Here's how it has been done at my school (UTMB in Galveston):
We have three PBL sessions each week on MWF, each is two hours long. Our PBLs work pretty much like analu's. Our PBLs have gotten much more clinically oriented (ie focused on clinical issues vs basic science ones) in the second year.
We have our 'teach clinical stuff' course on TTh, here called Practice of Medicine (POM). The amount of time spent with this varies by semester but usually consists of two, one-hour lectures and some type of small group exercise. The first year, we spent much more time in small groups learning to do H&PEs and practicing for our OSCEs (standardized clincial patient encounters).
We have traditional lectures on MWF. We certainly have fewer lectures than the traditional curriculum. We usually have around two lectures per day.
We have a lab once a week for a couple of hours. We spend time (far too much, IMHO) staring into microscopes learning (suposedly, anyway) histology and the science of small, dead stuff. Obviously, pathology isn't my favorite topic.
The entire curriculum is arranged in blocks. Each block in about 8 weeks and, other than POM, we do one subject per block. Each block is an integrated topic. The idea is that we integrate the basic science in a way that will make clinical sense. This is usually better explained by example. Our first block is GAR (Gross Anatomy & Radiology). We do the typical anatomy lectures, augmented by dissections (we do our own, thankfully) and PBL. Plus, we learn to read various types of imaging studies as a way of reinforcing the anatomy.
Next we do MCT which covers biochem, cell biology, genetics, pharmacology (the basic issues, specific classes of drugs are spread out through the entire two years).
That's the way first year works. Second year is organ based. For example, we're in the first block of second year right now...cardiovascular/pulmonary.
The last two years are pretty much like everybody elses.
Sorry for the verbosity. Anyway, that's how our 'PBL' curriculum works.
Take care,
Jeff
MS-II
UTMB