The long-term effect of problem-based learning on communication apprehension of medical students

Objective To discuss the long-term effect of problem-based learning (PBL) on communication apprehension of medical student. Methods A total of 60 students in China Medical University were assigned to the PBL group (n=30) and the control group(n=30) based on the student ID number. The PBL group adopted the PBL teaching method, while the control group adopted the traditional teaching method. All of the two groups shared the same teachers. The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) was used to evaluate the situation of communication apprehension for 2 times (after PBL course and before graduation) and SPSS 13.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results In the questionnaire survey after class, the total score(P<0.05), group discussion score (P<0.01) and international score (P<0.05) of PBL group were significantly lower than the control group. In the questionnaire survey before graduation, the group discussion score (P<0.05) was significantly lower than the control group while the difference in total score and other subscales did not show statistically significant. The difference in PBL group in the investigation survey after class and before graduation show statistically significant. The difference in control group in the investigation survey after class and before graduation show statistically significant too. Conclusions Problem-based learning can relieve the communication apprehension of the medical students significantly in short-term. But the intervention effect is difficult to keep for a long time. Long-term continuity PBL teaching may be more conducive to students’ ability training. Key words: Problem-based learning; Communication apprehension; Long-term effect; Study