2004 Volume 24 Issue 3 Pages 241-254
The objectives were to analyze the curriculum of dental education and the problem-based learning in the United Kingdom and to prospect the future changes of our own education system. The General Dental Council (GDC) regulates the dental professionals and assures the quality of their practice. They also assure dental education in presenting a guideline such as The First Five Years. The system would work well in UK and could be introduced. The contents and the management of PBL were investigated on the visits to Liverpool and Manchester and the interview to the educators and students there. In experiencing the tutorial class, how the students join the class and study with group members was studied. There the curriculum has been integrated before the introduction of PBL, replacing the conventional discipline-oriented lecture-based ones. The basics of the human body were studied through the patient's case materials used in the medical school. The specifically developed dental packages, coupled with a guidebook for students or tutors, were also applied to the basic and clinical dentistry using the real patient's cases. Most of the students met usually accepted PBL, worked well as a member of the group and enjoyed the class. These indicated that PBL could be advantageous in the study of the dental practice in the integrated curriculum setting.
