Student feedback on problem stimulated learning in pharmacology: A questionnaire based study

At the Manipal College of Medical Sciences (MCOMS), Pokhara, Nepal a mixture of didactic lectures and problem-stimulated learning (PSL) is used to teach pharmacology. The present study was carried out to obtain information on student attitudes towards PSL in pharmacology and note any differences in attitudes due to demographic factors, graduation, medium of instruction at school, previous exposure to and importance of self-learning at school. Fourteen statements regarding PSL were given and the respondents were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement using a modified Likert-type scale. The fourth semester students were invited to participate in the study by notices and announcements. Of the 200 fourth semester students, 150 (75%) completed the questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze differences between the groups. Female students (p = 0.85), English medium students (p = 0.61) and students with exposure to problem-based learning (PBL) (p = 0.82) had a higher median score which was not statistically significant. Students from schools where self-learning was important had a more positive opinion regarding PSL (p = 0.005). Involvement of other departments and problem-based assessment will be helpful to the faculty in considering a problem from different perspectives and will make PSL a more integrated and effective method of learning for the students.