Abstract
In Hokkaido Pharmaceutical University, problem-based learning (PBL) has been introduced as a part of the laboratory and practice curriculum for all school years to promote active learning skills and enhance students' problem-solving ability. The PBL program at our school has been developed using a tutorial study based on scenarios and learning strategies, such as experiments and/or standardized patients (SPs) and role-playing, according to students' developmental stage and learning objectives. The course “Practice VIII/Principles of Clinical Communication” for the fifth-grade students is an example of the new PBL program to improve students' clinical communication skills and ability to design a care plan for patients. We divided 196 students into 49 groups (each group had 4 members). We used the large-class PBL model, in which the students had discussions with several facilitators. The students were presented with a patient-case scenario, in which they were first provided with a brief background of the patient. Afterward, students interviewed SPs to obtain detailed information, based on which a care plan was designed for each patient. Students role-played with SPs as a part of patient support, consulted using the patient care plan, and made Subjective information, Objective information, Assessment, and Plan (SOAP) notes at the end. Some students commented that the PBL program was very helpful in understanding how to design a patient care plan and that they understood the importance of communication in obtaining information for designing a patient care plan.
