Problem-based learning - the new paradigm of medical education

Abstract

When the Journal asked the fledgling Medical School to explain to the interested observer and the sceptic what the concept of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) meant to those staff members who might have to adapt their teaching methods, Tom Poyser’s name came up. Tom is a final year medical student at Liverpool who took a year out of the course to study International Health at Leeds. The Journal is pleased to publish this personal account of his experiences of the PBL curriculum at Lancaster, where he has been impressed with the personal nature of the teaching and the sense of involvement that students have with the practice of medicine. Minor editorial changes have had to be made to correct Tom’s misunderstanding that Lancaster was a ‘quiet’ medical community before the arrival of the medical school! For those of us who are looking for reassurance that the modern medical curriculum delivers an education comparable with the traditional one, here is a personal view that reflects the experience of a student and his peers.