Ratings of students' performances in a third-year internal medicine clerkship: a comparison between problem-based and lecture-based curricula.
OBJECTIVE
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.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Richards
B F
BF
Office of Educational Research and Services (OERS), Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University (BGSMWFU), Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1049, USA.
Ober
K P
KP
Cariaga-Lo
L
L
Camp
M G
MG
Philp
J
J
McFarlane
M
M
Rupp
R
R
Zaccaro
D J
DJ
D000124:Achievement; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007439:Introversion, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D010551:Personality; D011340:Problem Solving; D012649:Self Concept; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*