Students' experiences with real-patient tutorials in a problem-based curriculum

Background: To bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical education th at still exists in the problem-based medical school at Maastricht, tutorial groups in which clinicians guided and discussed students' interactions wit h real patients were introduced in the preclinical program. Purpose: To find out what students find instructive in these patient tutori al groups and how this should be interpreted in relation to the problem-bas ed character of the curriculum. Methods: Two focus groups were composed of participants of the patient tuto rial groups in 1996-1997. They discussed relevant issues in two sessions an d approved reports of the outcomes. Results and Conclusions: Students found the real-patient contact in the tut orials very valuable. They had not practiced taking a history to formulate and test a differential diagnosis with patients before. Problem-based tutor ials with written cases were said to frequently lack depth of discussion. I ndividual contacts with simulated patients were found to be important in te sting one's own knowledge and skills.