Acceptance of Problem Based Learning among Medical Students

Aim: The objective of this study is to determine the acceptance of Problem Based Learning (PBL) among medical students. Material and Methods: This study was conducted among 350 Medical students at the Management and Science University (MSU), Malaysia, during the academic year 2011-2012. A cross sectional study was carried out among first, second, third and fourth year medical students. Students were explained the objective of the study and were invited to participate. Informed verbal consent to participate was obtained and all participants were assured. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 13. T-test and ANOVA test which were conducted to determine if there was a significant difference between the study parameters. Multiple linear regressions were used in multivariate analysis. Results: The majority of the surveyed students were older than, or equal, to 22 years old, Malays, from year 2, with Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) more than 3.3 and family monthly income less than 10,000 Malaysian ringgits (60.3%, 52.3%, 44.0%, 37.1%, 85.4% respectively). Race, year and CGPA were found to be significantly associated with PBL acceptance among medical students (p = 0.001, p = 0.003, p = 0.003; respectively). Overall, the acceptance of PBL among medical students was quite low (39.7%). In multivariate analysis, age and race were significantly associated with PBL acceptance. Conclusion: The acceptance of PBL among the surveyed medical students was low. This suggests that more rigorous and practical training should be given to tutors and students in order to understand the philosophy of PBL.