title: Problem-based learning in medical school: A student's perspective.
abstract: Problem-based learning (PBL) has been a concept in existence for decades yet its implementation in medical student education is limited. Considering the nature of a physician's work, PBL is a logical step towards developing students' abilities to synthesize and integrate foundational concepts into clinical medicine. Harvard's recently redesigned Pathways curriculum has shifted almost exclusively towards PBL in its one-year preclinical curriculum. This piece provides my thoughts, both derived from my own reflections as well as conversations and observations of my peers, on the effectiveness, advantages, and disadvantages of a PBL curriculum. All in all, the feelings of my peers and I regarding PBL has been overwhelmingly positive despite potential areas of improvement and continued fine-tuning.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, 107 Avenue Louis Pasteur Mailbox 048, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
authors.forename: Bliss J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Chang
keywords: Group learning; Medical school curriculum; PBL; Problem-based learning; Student perspective