PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING IN CONSULTATION PSYCHIATRY

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a method of instruction gaining increa sed attention and implementation in medical education. In PBL there is increased emphasis on the development of problem-solving skills, smal l group dynamics, and self-directed methods of education. A weekly PBL conference was started by a university consultation psychiatry team. One active consultation service problem was identified each week for s tudy. Multiple computerized and library resources provided access to a dditional information for problem solving. After 1 year of the PBL con ference, an evaluation was per formed to determine the effectiveness o f this approach. We reviewed the content of problems identified, and c onducted a survey of conference participants. The most common types of problem categories identified for the conference were pharmacology of psychiatric and medical drugs (28%), mental status effects of medical illnesses (28%), consultation psychiatry process issues (20%), and di agnostic issues (13%). Computerized literature searches provided signi ficant assistance for some problems and less for other problems. The P BL conference was ranked the highest of all the psychiatry resident ed ucational formats. PBL appears to be a successful method for assisting in patient management and in resident and medical student psychiatry education.