Bf. Richards et L. Cariagalo, CURRICULUM TYPE AND SOPHOMORE STUDENTS PREPARATION TIME FOR THE USMLESTEP 1 EXAMINATION, Evaluation & the health professions, 17(3), 1994, pp. 329-343
Students in either a problem-based learning (PBL) or traditional lectu
re-based learning (LBL) curriculum at the same medical school reported
the average total time they had spent during their sophomore year stu
dying for the 1992 USMLE Step 1 exam. They also estimated (a) the time
taken away from regular curricular studies to prepare for Step 1 and
(b) how they had divided their study between learning concepts and mem
orizing facts. On average, sophomore PBL students (n = 17) spent nearl
y twice as much time preparing for Step 1 as did the LBL students (n =
52). Compared to LBL students, PBL students reported taking more time
away from regular curricular studies and focusing more of their study
ing on learning concepts when classes were in session and on memorizin
g facts once classes had ended. These findings exemplify how PBL stude
nts use different learning approaches in their curricular studies than
in their Step 1 exam preparation.