A follow-up of medical graduates of a problem-based learning curriculum

Introduction There is little information available on the effects of problem-based undergraduate curricula on doctors and their performances after graduation. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire study of all graduates of the new medical programme at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Linkoping University. Methods All 446 medical students who had graduated from the new programme were asked to fill in a questionnaire about selected activities during their studies and their careers after graduation. They were also asked to evaluate the quality of their undergraduate education retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive, multivariate and bivariate approaches. Results A total of 77% of the graduates responded. They showed a high degree of overall contentment with their undergraduate education and felt well prepared for professional life during their preregistration period and specialist education (mean = 4.0 on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 5). They felt especially well prepared in terms of skills for communication with patients, collaboration with other health professionals and development of critical thinking/scientific attitudes. The students' age at the beginning of their studies correlated positively with their contentment as graduates, especially in terms of preparation for patient communication and collaboration with other health professionals. No differences between students originally admitted via a local admission procedure and those admitted via a national procedure were detected concerning retrospective evaluation of undergraduate medical education. Conclusion Graduates of the new curriculum showed a high degree of satisfaction with their undergraduate education and its preparation of them for medical practice. Specifically, they were very content with the particular emphases of the new curriculum.