TEACHING STUDENTS TO IDENTIFY PSYCHOSOCIAL CUES IN PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING CASES

This study's objective was to explore preclinical medical student's co nsideration of psychosocial variables in problem-based learning (PBL) cases. The authors used PBL cares that included psychosocial data and case content focused on behavioral science, biological science, or a c ombination of both. The authors compared, using one-way analysis of va riance, the mean number of cues, learning issues, and hypotheses that the students generated in their written responses to PBL cases that va ried in the amount of psychosocial content. The results revealed that the students identified psychosocial cues consistently across all curr iculum segments, but the mean numbers of psychosocial hypotheses and l earning issues were highest in the PBL case units dominated by psychos ocial material. The authors conclude that the recognition of psychosoc ial data as germane disease variables is achieved more easily than the use of such data in a biopsychosocial formulation of traditional medi cal problems. A lack of sophistication and experience might make the l atter task difficult to accomplish for many second-year medical studen ts without using specific educational strategies.