A STUDENT-CENTERED, PROBLEM-BASED CURRICULUM - 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE

In 1987, the University of Sherbrooke's school of medicine implemented a student-centred, problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. The exper ience of the first 5 years is reviewed; program goals, the schedule of learning activities, the instructional format and assessment of stude nt learning are described. The new program is more demanding of teache rs and requires better faculty training in pedagogy. No new financial resources have been available. The preclinical reform has led to revis ion of the clerkship, where sessions on clinical reasoning are now bas ed on the PBL philosophy. Student reactions to the program are reporte d. The Sherbrooke experience has demonstrated that it is both possible and feasible to shift from a traditional to a problem-based curriculu m.