Advances in Physiology Education, Vol 266, Issue 6 24-S32, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society
Ten years of basic medical physiology in the Mercer problem-based curriculum
C. R. Reagan and R. P. Menninger
Division of Basic Medical Sciences, Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon, Georgia 31207.
In our curriculum, students learn basic medical physiology and
pathophysiology during a 74-week integrated multidisciplinary program. This
problem-based program consists of two phases aimed at student acclimation
to the educational approach and to coverage of fundamental information,
followed by 10 phases devoted to in-depth coverage of the organ systems.
Physiological principles are given major emphasis during these latter 10
phases. In this approach, students meet in small groups, identify basic
science learning issues (including physiology) from written biomedical
cases, research the issues, and discuss these issues in relation to each
case. These groups (6-7 students plus a tutor) meet for 3-hour sessions
three times each week during each phase. Students receive cases, along with
study guides designed to assist in selecting appropriate information
sources for each phase. Each student is evaluated on group process skills,
oral presentation and defense of a case analysis, and a multiple-choice
exam. Internal and external [National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
Part I] evaluations for the Classes of 1987-1993 indicate that our
problem-based approach results in student learning of medical physiology.
