Identifying learning pattern among medical students and their preferred mode of study

Objectives: The goal of this study was to identify the problems students face in learning by identifying their pattern of study; to find out the most preferred method of teaching and learning and to assist faculty by identifying the problematic areas for students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at All Saints University School of Medicine, Dominica. It involved 202 students who volunteered to fill out the questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information regarding student’s problems in learning along with their most preferred teaching and learning methodology. The data being compiled and analyzed using STATA IC 14. Results: Of the 202 participants, 191 responses were analyzed. STATA revealed no significance in a gender preferences and mode of learning however, significant differences were observed while comparing year of study to preference of PDI/PDS (p=0.041) and Tutoring (p=0.033). In addition, 96% (n=191) of the students appreciated Problem-based Learning (PBL) in the form of discussing clinical cases related to the topic. Conclusions: These results demonstrate a rising interest in PBL as opposed to traditional methods of learning.