Generic skills development in undergraduate medical studies in a PBL programme

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In May 2013, Bond’s School of Medicine will implement its new undergraduate medical programme with approximately 80% of the cohort entering the program directly from school. To guide the development of these students and consistent with the thinking of Taylor and Miflin (2008), a framework of evolving PBL has been designed for the first two “preclinical” years of the programme. Semesters 1 and 2 (Year 1) are guided, with a weekly third PBL session dedicated to developing key skills (e.g. information literacy, group work, numeracy, self-management, problem solving and reasoning), contextualised within the discovery learning process guided by the PBL case. In Year 2, (Semesters 3-5), PBL will be more authentic with learners now using and further developing their Year 1 foundational skills. For example, there will be a shift in emphasis to leadership, critical reasoning and self-care. Facilitators will be trained specifically for their role as cognitive guides and coaches. This study will evaluate students’ skill development over the study period and their self-directed learning ability. It will also evaluate facilitators’ student and facilitator perceptions of the program. The data are in SPSS and NVIVO format.