A COMPARISON BETWEEN STUDENTS IN PROBLEM-BASED AND TRADITIONAL CURRICULA AT THE SAME MEDICAL-SCHOOL - PREPARING FOR THE NBME .1.

Eighteen of 22 students in a problem-based curriculum and 62 of 79 stu dents in a traditional curriculum at the same medical school completed a survey 10 weeks after completing Part I of the National Boards. The survey asked students to report the average time they had spent each week during the first 2 years of medical school preparing for the Part I examination. Students were also asked to rate the usefulness of a v ariety of learning resources. The purpose of the survey was to compare the preparation activities of students in the two curricula. The resu lts of the survey revealed that students in the problem-based curricul um tended to study many more hours for Part I than did students in the traditional curriculum, especially during their second year. The resu lts also found problem-based curriculum students tended to rate textbo oks and the PreTest Series as more valuable than did their peers in th e traditional curriculum. The effects of the format and goals of the t wo curricula on the students' preparation activities are explored.