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Problem-based learning (PBL) in medical and dental curricula is now well established, as such courses are seen to equip students with valuable transferable skills (e.g. problem-solving or team-working abilities), in addition to knowledge acquisition. However, it is often assumed that students improve in such skills without actually providing direct opportunity for practice, and without giving students feedback on their performance. ‘The Manchester Dental Programme’ (TMDP) was developed at The University of Manchester, UK as a 5-year, integrated enquiry-led curriculum. The existing PBL course was redesigned to include a unique, additional PBL session (‘Session 4’) that incorporated an activity for the group to complete, based on the subject material covered during student self-study. A summative mark was awarded for each activity that reflected the teamwork, organisational and overall capabilities of the groups. This paper describes the different types of activities developed for the Session 4 and presents an analysis of the perceptions of the students and staff involved. The student response to the Session 4 activities, obtained via questionnaires, was extremely positive, with the majority finding them fun, yet challenging, and ‘worthwhile’. The activities were perceived to enhance subject understanding; develop students’ problem-solving skills; allow the application of knowledge to new situations, and helped to identify gaps in knowledge to direct further study. Staff found the activities innovative and exciting learning tools for the students. The Session 4 activities described here are useful educational resources that could be adapted for other PBL courses in a wide variety of subject areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionMost medical schools in the UK have been engaged in major curriculum reform based on their premises of what might improve undergraduate medical education. In 1994 the course at the medical school of the University of Manchester changed to an integrated course using problem-based learning throughout and with increased emphasis on community-based medical education. This study explores whether the new curriculum has produced any differences in perceptions of how well graduates are prepared for the role of pre-registration house officer. MethodsA postal questionnaire was used to survey 1998 Manchester graduates (traditional course) and 1999 Manchester graduates (new course), three months into their first pre-registration house officer placement. A similar questionnaire was sent to the educational supervisors who were supervising the graduates. The questionnaire was designed to measure perceptions of levels of preparedness for the role of pre-registration house officer, using a list of broad areas of competence and specific skills listed in the General Medical Council's `The New Doctor'.1 ResultsGraduates rated the new course significantly more effective for 12 of the 19 broad competences and eight of the 13 specific skills that were listed. The `new' graduates rated their understanding of disease processes lower than the `traditional' graduates, but there was no difference in the ratings given by the educational supervisors for this. Overall the educational supervisors rated the new course as better preparing graduates in five of the competences. ConclusionsOverall, the evaluation shows that a major change in curriculum approach has changed the profile of the perceived preparedness of graduates for entering professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]