PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a new teaching segment, named "problem-based clinical teaching," for the clinical clerkship in the undergraduate medical curriculum. METHODS: Students were given a problem weekly on a case that they had seen during their rotation. The problem was provided by the instructor from a case that had already been diagnosed but came up with an additional problem that called for further investigation by the attending physician. The task for the students was to conduct the investigation and discuss the problem with the attending physician. A survey was conducted of a class of 3rd year medical students (n=43) who completed clerkships in internal medicine to measure the level of student engagement in the problem-based clinical teaching segment and the students' overall perceptions of this new teaching method. RESULTS: Students generally agreed with the statements that they were actively engaged in the learning during the problem-based clinical teaching session. The students also perceived that this teaching session helped them acquire a deeper understanding of the knowledge and that it enhanced their problem solving skills and motivation. CONCLUSION: Problem-based clinical teaching is a useful educational method to apply problem-based learning in clinical clerkship settings.
Clinical Clerkship ; Clinical Competence ; Curriculum ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; Humans ; Internal Medicine ; Learning ; Models, Educational ; Motivation ; Pilot Projects ; Porphyrins ; Problem Solving ; Problem-Based Learning ; Students, Medical