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Ratings of students' performances in a third-year internal medicine clerkship: a comparison between problem-based and
B F Richards1, K P Ober, L Cariaga-Lo
1Office of Educational Research and Services (OERS), Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University (BGSMWFU), Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1049, USA.
Purpose:
To compare clinical performances in a third-year medicine clerkship between studies from a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum and students from a traditional, lecture-based learning (LBL) curriculum.
Method:
The study participants were 88 PBL students and 364 LBL students rotating through a common third-year internal medicine clerkship at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, classes of 1991-1995. Faculty and housestaff assessed the students' performances using four clinical rating scales. The student also completed the medicine student ("shelf") test of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
Results:
On average, the PBL students received significantly higher ratings from housestaff and faculty on all four rating scales. No difference in scores on the NBME medicine shelf test was observed.
Conclusion:
The results support the hypothesis that preclinical PBL curricula as found at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine may enhance third-year students' clinical performances.
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