PBL in Health Professions Education, Why and why not: FAIMER Fellows' Perspective

A group of 2006 and 2007 International FAIMER (Foundation for Advancement of Medical Education and Research) Fellows explored online issues related to the adoption of PBL in their institutions. The theme of web discussion was focused on two questions: 1) If you are using PBL at your school, what are the challenges and issues you and your colleagues faced as you implemented and continued to use PBL? (2) If you are not using PBL at your school, or are contemplating using it and have not yet implemented it, what are the issues and concerns of teachers about PBL that made it not possible at this time to be used? About thirty percent of the fellows (n=43) responded to the first question and 69.7% responded to the second question. Analysis of the responses revealed issues of cost, faculty development and resources are major impediments to adoption of PBL. The attraction of more students-centered, self-directed learning was common. Different strategies for implementing PBL among the respondents were also common.