Perceptions of interns performance: a comparison between a problem based and a conventional curriculum.

BACKGROUND Medical education is changing. Increasingly, there are calls for major curriculum reform based on premises of what might improve undergraduate medical education. Against this background, innovative methods of teaching and learning have emerged. Problem-based and student-centered approaches are increasingly being adopted with less reliance on the conventional didactic lecture forums. OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of two different instructional methods (problem based learning and conventional teaching), on the professional competencies of pre-registration house officers (PRHOs) or interns, as perceived by the graduates themselves and their clinical supervisors. DESIGN A cross-sectional survey design was used to identify a causal relationship between the method of instruction and ratings on outcome for two different groups. SETTING Selected medical board-accredited internship training centres throughout the country. SUBJECTS Interns from Moi and Nairobi Universities who qualified in the academic year 2002/2003 and thus completed their internship in August/September 2004. For the supervisors, they needed to have supervised at least four groups of interns. RESULTS Graduates from Moi University perceived themselves to be more prepared for two of the nineteen broad competencies and six of the twelve specific skills listed. The clinical supervisors perceived Moi graduates as better prepared in four of the broad competencies. They found no significant differences for any of the specific skills. CONCLUSION Overall, the study showed that Moi University graduates, felt and are perceived as better prepared for their role as interns. The differences in curriculum contribute significantly to these findings.