Abstract
Objective
To determine perception of students on usefulness of Case-Oriented Problem–Solving Tutorials (COPST) in understanding of physiology.
Methods
This was a cross sectional observational study in which response of students to a self administered structured questionnaire regarding understanding of physiology was taken from 97 students.
Results
COPST helped 74 (76%) students in understanding of content and 68 (70%) students in structural and functional relationship. Difficult concepts of lectures were understood by 69 (71%) students, while perception of pathologies and application of gained knowledge was credited by 75 (77%) and 67 (69 %) students respectively. Self directed and interactive learning was reported by 50 (52%) and 61 (63%) students and confidence was gained in 52 (54%) respondents.
Conclusion
Discussion of clinical scenarios in small groups, supervised by trained facilitators helped in better understanding of physiology by active participation of medical students through question and answers. (Rawal Med J 2011;36:232-236).
Key words: Case based learning, problem based learning, traditional tutorials, clinically oriented problem solving tutorials, small group discussions
