Objective To assess the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) to improve clinical practice skills for clinical students after graduation.
Methods Computer retrieval was conducted to search for controlled studies comparing PBL with non-PBL. The quality of the included studies was critically evaluated and data were analyzed.
Results A total of 16 articles were included. The results showed that in integrated capabilities, PBL teaching was superior to traditional teaching methods. Whether in self-evaluation or objective evaluation, in terms of legal and ethical aspects of health care, research and presentation skills and ability to solve problem, PBL teaching was superior to non-PBL-learning methods. But in other aspects, it was yet controversial whether PBL-learning was better than non-PBL-learning.
Conclusion Problem-based learning could improve clinical practice skills for clinical students after graduation. However, most trials included are of low quality, so large-scale randomized controlled trials of higher quality are needed to confirm this.
Citation： MA Bin,ZHANG Yulong,WU Jia,GUO Jiwu,PAN Hui,YANG Kehu. Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning to Improve Clinical Practice Skills for Clinical Students after Graduation: A Systematic Review. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2010, 10(8): 905-909. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20100518 Copy