Attitudes of faculty and students toward case-based learning in the third-year obstetrics and gynecology clerkship

Objective: This study was undertaken to compare the attitudes of faculty and medical students toward case-based learning and lecture format during the obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. Study design: For this prospective comparative study, student presentations were alternately assigned to traditional lecture- or case-based format every 6 weeks. Presentations were made to other students and a single faculty. A total of 31 faculty members, 30 student presenters, and 122 student participants completed evaluations. Teaching methods were compared. Results: Faculty members favored lecture format over case-based learning for "attentiveness and interaction of the group" (3.9 vs 4.5, P < .018) and for "meeting the objectives" (3.7 vs 4.5, P < .002). Student participants favored case-based learning in "understanding the relationship between knowledge and clinical practice" (4.34 vs 4.06, P < .05) and "enjoyed" (4.34 vs 3.90, P < .008). Student presenters showed no differences between groups. Conclusion: Faculty favored lecture format whereas student participants favored a case-based presentation. Student presenters were comfortable with both formats.