Planning and implementing a problem‐based learning rotation for residents

Abstract

An experiment using problem‐based learning (PBL) as the primary instructional method to teach HIV/AIDS care to residents was conducted during a 1‐month primary‐care internal medicine ambulatory rotation at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Resident, tutor, and observer assessments about PBL were uniformly favorable. Although there was a substantial amount of “front end”; time spent by faculty developing the rotation, there was little additional planning time required between the first and second rotations. The strengths and problems of the PBL process are discussed, as are recommendations for implementing comparable rotations for graduate medical students.