The multiple choice tutorial: its use in the reinforcement of fundamentals in medical education

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) were developed on major themes in physiology and delivered in a weekly tutorial to first and second year medical students. The sequence of the MCQs was arranged to follow the usual explanation of tissue function. These multiple choice tutorials (MCTs) were either composed entirely of MCQs or were 50:50 lecture and MCQs. The importance of the MCT was the diversification of questions around the components of the MCQ, hence the MCQs served as the springboard from which different avenues of understanding were able to be investigated. The effectiveness of the MCT was assessed by performance at faculty mid- and end-of-year examinations against a control group of students who received 'conventional' tutorials. This comparison suggests that the MCT may have contributed to improved performance. The multiple choice tutorial is popular and achieves considerable student participation. For the tutor, it represents a consistently reproducible tutorial with an appropriate thrust of emphasis.