SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Problem-based learning is now a well-established approach to the design and implementation of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education. This article describes how it functions and examines how it contributes to more enjoyable and effective professional development.
Problem-based learning (PBL) is presented as a useful way to educate allied health practitioners for the future. The essential characteristics of problem-based learning include: curricular organization around problems rather than disciplines; an integrated curriculum rather than one separated into clinical and theoretical components; and an inherent emphasis on cognitive skills as well as on knowledge. Long-term advocates of PBL stress that it is the only known method for preparing future professionals to be able to adapt to change, learning how to reason critically, enabling a holistic approach to health, and attaining integrated, cumulative learning.
The Wellcome Tropical Institute has assisted countries in the tropics to establish viable systems of continuing medical education, particularly for young doctors practising in rural areas. As part of this strategy the Institute has developed material for use in distance learning. The first attempt to apply the problem-based learning approach to written material for use by an individual learner in the absence of a tutor led to a trial in Ghana, Kenya and Pakistan to compare a conventionally designed module with a problem-based learning module on the same topic for their respective acceptability, effectiveness and efficiency. The design, implementation and results of these three comparative trials are presented.
OBJECTIVE: Exploring the effects of long-term PBL (problem-based learning) intervention on undergraduate nursing students. METHODS: The article retrieved literature from CINAHL Complete, Academic Search Complete, Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, OVID, and Cochrane Library up to January 2025. Studies had to meet all of these criteria: (1) They used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and quasi-experimental design. (2) The PBL pedagogy intervention lasted 4 weeks or longer. (3) The participants were undergraduate nursing students. (4) They reported primary outcomes. These included critical thinking, problem-solving skills and self-directed learning. Two researchers screened articles, extracted data, and assessed quality independently using blinding. They used Cochrane ROB2 for RCTs and ROBINS-I for quasi-experimental studies to judge bias risk. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. For continuous variables, standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval were calculated. Heterogeneity was assessed by I2 statistic. When I2 > 50%, sensitivity analysis was conducted. The source of heterogeneity was explored by excluding studies one by one. The primary outcomes included standardized critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-directed learning assessment results. RESULTS: A total of 11 randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies were retrieved and included for meta-analysis. The experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-directed learning, with differences being statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05). However, high heterogeneity was observed. After sensitivity analysis, the heterogeneity was reduced and the results remained statistically significant, indicating that the findings were not solely dependent on the excluded studies.
Problem-based learning (PBL) has been implemented during the clinical years in a few medical schools. The purpose of this study is to determine whether PBL provides a better education than traditional methods. Students in the first and third rotations (n = 42) went through the traditional clerkship, which utilized Socratic teaching (SI), while students in the second and fourth rotations (n = 36) were taught by the PBL method. Two performance measures were used to assess clerkship effectiveness. One was a modified essay examination (MEE) administered as part of the departmental evaluation. The other was the NBME-II exam and its surgery subsection NBME-II-S. The MEE was designed to measure six dimensions of the problem-solving process. The NBME-II was utilized to measure knowledge. Unpaired t tests were used to identify statistically significant group differences. The PBL group performed significantly better on two MEE dimensions: (1) differential diagnosis formation (PBL, 92.5 +/- 0.8; SI, 89.1 +/- 0.5; P < 0.01) and (2) interpretation of clinical data (PBL, 93.3 +/- 0.6; SI, 91.6 +/- 0.4; P < 0.03). A third dimension, ordering appropriate lab and diagnostic studies, approached significance (P = 0.057), and the PBL group performed better. On the NBME-II there was not a significant difference between the two groups. However, the trend (P = 0.059) was for the PBL group to score higher on the NBME-II-S (PBL mean: 502 +/- 15; SI mean: 468 +/- 12). When overall achievement was controlled for, the PBL group performed significantly better than the SI group (P = 0.046) on the NBME-II-S.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A newly developed problem-based medical genetics course that was integrated into the fourth-year medical school curriculum of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is described. To provide a basic genetic background for the clinical rotations, a supplemental computer tutorial is required during the second year. These two formats prepare the medical students to recognize genetic diseases, to provide basic genetic counseling in their daily practice, and to appropriately refer patients to genetic specialists.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A novel course in undergraduate neurosciences is described in this paper. The course features a 'problem-box' and use of an educational prescription, each designed to foster the continual development of problem solving and self-directed study skills. The use of a wide range of evaluation tools, stimulated patients, questionnaires, tutorial evaluations, and interviews indicated that it was successful in its attempt. The philosophy of the design of problem-boxes and the problem-solving approach are discussed.
Traditional educational methods are used in most medical schools. The introduction of new methods including active and problem-solving learning in traditional medical schools is difficult. The aims of this experiment were: (1) to introduce a self-learning system with a problem-solving approach in physiology; (2) to promote active student participation; (3) to introduce early clinical exposure; (4) to evaluate the response of the students to this experiment; and (5) to evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of a self-learning and problem-solving approach in only one discipline. Our experience has shown that it is possible to change the learning system in a traditional medical school, with good acceptance by the students and with a high level of satisfaction on the part of the teachers.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
INTRODUCTION: Genomics is increasingly recognized as essential for precision health, yet its integration into undergraduate nursing and other health sciences curricula remains limited. Persistent gaps in genomics literacy and confidence among students and professionals indicate that current educational approaches may not adequately prepare graduates for genomics-informed care and precision health. The aim of this review is to map educational approaches and methods used to enhance genomic competencies among undergraduate health sciences students and discuss implications for nursing education. METHODS: Scoping review, reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR recommendations. Systematic search in CINAHL Ultimate, ERIC, and MEDLINE for studies published in English between January 2015 and December 2024 was undertaken. Data were charted using a standardized extraction form and synthesized descriptively and narratively, grouping interventions by educational approach, methods, strategies, techniques, and tools. RESULTS: Thirty-one studies were included, mostly from the United States, involving primarily medical and nursing students. Educational approaches centered on experiential and practice-based learning, simulation, case- and problem-based learning, flipped classrooms, collaborative or interprofessional learning, narrative and arts-based methods, and technology-enhanced strategies such as virtual labs, online modules, and digital storytelling. These approaches were associated with improvements in genomic knowledge, application to clinical scenarios, ethical awareness, engagement, and self-reported confidence, although outcomes were predominantly short-term. CONCLUSIONS: Genomics education for health sciences students is characterized by diverse, largely experiential and student-centered approaches. Integration into curricula remains fragmented and often focused on genetics rather than broader genomics and precision health. Nurse educators should prioritize integrated, authentic, and ethically informed genomics education, supported by educator development and digital technologies, including generative AI, to prepare graduates for precision nursing care.
The medical undergraduate programme at McMaster University is a three-year integrated course in which major emphasis is placed upon self-directed, problem-based learning. Group tutorials are the major meeting place for students, and there are very few formal lectures. In this paper we describe the curriculum in broad outline and the way in which epidemiology and biostatistics have been incorporated into it in the past seven years.
This review describes the qualities which those who are trainers in safe motherhood and other programs should display. The educational principles and objectives for maternal health workers, based on the tasks which they have to do and expressed in the skills and competences they must attain, are related to practical methods of training. Problem-based learning is advocated and the value of distance education for rural workers is discussed.
In 1989-90, 57 students in a new program for the third-year surgery clerkship at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine participated either in a control group (22 students) receiving a traditional method of instruction (Socratic instruction, SI) or in an experimental group (35 students) taking part in problem-based learning (PBL) sessions. The two groups' performances on six evaluative instruments designed to test either their factual knowledge or their knowledge application (i.e., clinical problem-solving skills) were compared. The measures of factual knowledge were associated with higher scores for the SI group on two quizzes; scores were not significantly different on another quiz and on a cumulative final examination. The measures of knowledge application (administered at the end of the clerkship) were associated with higher scores for the PBL group: scores were significantly higher on a modified essay examination and approached significance on a standardized-patient examination. The authors conclude that their results (1) have important similarities to those of previous research suggesting that a PBL format is essentially equivalent to a traditional curricular format in improving students' factual knowledge and (2) support the hypothesis that PBL is superior in improving clinical problem-solving skills.
This paper describes the efforts of the Department of Family and Community Health at Sultan Qaboos University in providing opportunities for the development of 'hands-on' problem-solving skills appropriate for Oman. The curriculum of the Department is discussed, highlighting the unusual emphasis of this discipline in both the preclinical and clinical curriculum of the College of Medicine. The importance of continuous assessment and supervision of students is discussed. Course-work in the preclinical curriculum of the Department is kept to a minimum. Field-work forms an important part of preclinical training, where application and problem-based learning are emphasized. During the clinical years the students are exposed to an integrated series of lectures and practicals covering core knowledge in clinical medicine. Practical clinical training, over a total period of 15 weeks, takes place at a variety of sites where common problems in primary health care in Oman are handled by students under supervision.
BACKGROUND: Cultural concepts such as cultural intelligence, awareness, competency and safety are essential in guiding culturally responsive care in health professional practice. Pharmacist preceptors play a pivotal role in sharing both clinical and cultural safe practice with pharmacy students. Culturally responsive care can contribute to achieving health equity, which is especially important for Indigenous communities. AIM: To review literature on cultural concepts in pharmacist preceptorship practices, and how these concepts are taught and communicated to pharmacy students during experiential learning. METHOD: The systematic review followed the PRISMA 2020 guideline. Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar were used to identify articles specific to pharmacist preceptors and pharmacy students published between 2015 and 2025, and available in English. RESULTS: Three full-text articles met the inclusion criteria. Major themes and subthemes were identified; pharmacist preceptors lacked preparedness to teach cultural concepts, resulting in variability in preceptors' understanding of cultural concepts and confidence in fulfilling preceptor responsibilities, underutilised structured frameworks to guide students' learning, challenges with preceptorship due to limited resources and support, and the influence of preceptorship on student learning, which impacted students' learning and competency. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy students had minimal exposure to culturally informed pharmacist preceptorship. It is likely that pharmacist preceptors require country-specific educational resources to support culturally safe preceptorship. Future research is required to substantiate these findings, and to guide culturally responsive practice and promote equitable health outcomes in diverse populations.
The 3-year medical school program at McMaster University encourages an approach to learning a physician can apply throughout his or her career. The program has four phases and provides early exposure to relevant clinical material. In phase 3, the basic science phase, the structure and function of organ systems in health and disease are studied. Understanding the mechanisms of disease in order to be able to relate clinical symptoms and signs to physiologic and pathologic processes is emphasized. The four 10-week units deal with groups of organ systems. The "blood and guts" unit teaches the student hematology and gastroenterology through a variety of problem-based methods. Specialists in the relevant scientific disciplines influence selection and construction of the problems presented. The students are evaluated by the faculty tutor on their accomplishment of specific objectives related to their competence in solving biomedical problems.