PBL curriculum in PA School

[dburk91]

Hello all,

 

I have been accepted to two programs. One is instate, I will save $$$ and it has a mainly PBL environment, while the out of state program is more $$$ with a traditional lecture learning environment.

 

I am torn between which learning style will be the best fit for me. My undergrad and prereq classes (like most people) was mainly all lecture based.

 

Could anyone give me any insight with their PBL experiences in PA school, or their thoughts?!

 

Thanks, I look forward to hearing back!

 

Dan

[Statko]

Bottom line: Both approaches work and will prepare you for the PANCE. With these things being equal, I'd go where it's cheaper and where I'd have more family/financial/emotional support.

 

PBL is very popular in medical school curriculum, and that trend has spilled over into PA and, to some extent, other fields such as PT/OT, etc. You need to be comfortable (or be open to training yourself to be comfortable) reading a case and not really understanding anything about it or even understanding what your teacher wants you to do; then to take the initiative to dissect the case and "solve" the problem. I don't know about you, but when I read something and I have no clue what the problem is, I feel anxious. PBL is helpful for teaching you to minimize those feelings and to get to work. This skill comes in handy when you are taking a history from a patient and have no idea what their diagnosis is. Typically PBL also involves more team-based learning. I believe that PBL mirrors a lot of what happens in everyday clinical practice. But, it is certainly an adjustment to get used to when you're used to a more traditional teaching style.

 

My program used a hybrid approach; we had some classes that were heavy PBL and some that were lecture/notes style. I would be very surprised if the entire PA curriculum was PBL-based. It's time consuming and PA school is so condensed, I can't imagine how PBL-everything would work. On the plus side, looking back, I tend to remember more about the topics covered on PBLs because I was responsible for learning the material and it required much more engagement and effort on my part. But, I did not like my grades being tied to my classmates' - who may or may not have been pulling their fair share of the work/critical thinking when group PBLs were assigned. I preferred at that time to just be given the facts in a powerpoint and then memorize it for the test (I was in survival mode during PA school for sure!). But I also prefer saving money, so that would be the tie-breaker for me.

 

Congrats on your acceptances and good luck!

[dburk91]

Bottom line: Both approaches work and will prepare you for the PANCE. With these things being equal, I'd go where it's cheaper and where I'd have more family/financial/emotional support.

 

PBL is very popular in medical school curriculum, and that trend has spilled over into PA and, to some extent, other fields such as PT/OT, etc. You need to be comfortable (or be open to training yourself to be comfortable) reading a case and not really understanding anything about it or even understanding what your teacher wants you to do; then to take the initiative to dissect the case and "solve" the problem. I don't know about you, but when I read something and I have no clue what the problem is, I feel anxious. PBL is helpful for teaching you to minimize those feelings and to get to work. This skill comes in handy when you are taking a history from a patient and have no idea what their diagnosis is. Typically PBL also involves more team-based learning. I believe that PBL mirrors a lot of what happens in everyday clinical practice. But, it is certainly an adjustment to get used to when you're used to a more traditional teaching style.

 

My program used a hybrid approach; we had some classes that were heavy PBL and some that were lecture/notes style. I would be very surprised if the entire PA curriculum was PBL-based. It's time consuming and PA school is so condensed, I can't imagine how PBL-everything would work. On the plus side, looking back, I tend to remember more about the topics covered on PBLs because I was responsible for learning the material and it required much more engagement and effort on my part. But, I did not like my grades being tied to my classmates' - who may or may not have been pulling their fair share of the work/critical thinking when group PBLs were assigned. I preferred at that time to just be given the facts in a powerpoint and then memorize it for the test (I was in survival mode during PA school for sure!). But I also prefer saving money, so that would be the tie-breaker for me.

 

Congrats on your acceptances and good luck!

Thank you so much Statko! I greatly appreciate the tips will keep them very much in mind!!  

[SHU-CH]

Statko's description is pretty good. PBL works well but it will require discipline on your part. Instead of delivering a bunch of facts, it tries to teach you a way of thinking. It covers topics deeply as opposed to broadly. In a traditional environment you might have a lecture devoted to chest pain where you cover 10 conditions. In PBL, they might give you a couple of cases like ischemic chest pain and pulmonary embolism that you discuss in great detail. The presumption is that if you can train yourself to think through these two cases you can apply that knowledge laterally to other similar cases.

 

Either will work - it probably depends most on your learning style.

[dburk91]

Statko's description is pretty good. PBL works well but it will require discipline on your part. Instead of delivering a bunch of facts, it tries to teach you a way of thinking. It covers topics deeply as opposed to broadly. In a traditional environment you might have a lecture devoted to chest pain where you cover 10 conditions. In PBL, they might give you a couple of cases like ischemic chest pain and pulmonary embolism that you discuss in great detail. The presumption is that if you can train yourself to think through these two cases you can apply that knowledge laterally to other similar cases.

 

Either will work - it probably depends most on your learning style.

I know that I have the motivation to work as hard as it takes to succeed, whether it be in a PBL or traditional learning program, but is there a way to for me to know/find out what would be the best fit for myself? I just want to make sure that I put myself in the best learning environment most advantageous for me.

 

At my interview at the PBL school, we sat in on a PBL group of the first years and even did a mock PBL case with my fellow interviewees. This was ok, but it was hard to adjust at first and it is still hard to be able to make a decision based on the little PBL experience I got from it. I've heard good and bad things about PBL, some people like it and some dont; but I just want to make the best choice for me, and it is one that I am having a hard time with.