Tutors Evaluation of Integrated Medical Learning in Karbala Medical College

The main task of the tutor in problem-based learning (PBL) is to facilitate group discussion through increasing their skills and monitoring their progress. Several studies had investigated PBL
aspects, but few have explored the tutors knowledge and attitude towards the program. All tutors (n=22) involved in the newly adapted ‘Integrated Learning curriculum’ in Kerbala Medical college during the academic year 2014-2015 voluntarily answered a questionnaire published in ‘ABC of PBL in medicine’ periodical covering tutors, students and session characteristics. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was used for analysis. P<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Most tutors viewed PBL positively in the main tested disciplines (tutors, students, and session characteristics). The highest positive rate was found for students’ preparation and keeping continuous PBL discussion, followed by well-structured sessions, while the least positive answers was for session progress. For means comparison, the lowest mean was related to two questions concerning students’ characteristics. In spite of a greatly high positive attitude, few shortcomings were pointed out. These included session progress, speaking more than the tutor likes and speaking to one or two students instead of speaking to the whole group. In general, most participants (>90%) answered the study questionnaire positively which indicates a great satisfaction and positive evaluation; however, the main mentioned shortcoming was related to insufficient training and short experience with PBL.
Keywords: PROBLEM BASED LEARNING, TUTORS, INTEGRATED CURRICULUM, MEDICAL STUDENTS, LEARNING