Advances in Health Sciences Education 3: 59–70, 1998. 59 c 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Problem-Based Learning (PBL): Conceptions and Approaches of Undergraduate Students of Nursing MAXINE DUKE 1 , HELEN FORBES 1 , SUE HUNTER 1 and MICHAEL PROSSER 2 1 School of Nursing and 2 Academic Development Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia Abstract. Objective: A study aimed at exploring the variation in conceptions of problem-based learning (PBL) held by undergraduate nursing students and their approaches to study in PBL in a pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing Course. Method: Students were asked to respond to four open ended questions which focussed on their experience of PBL in a particular subject. Data were analysed in two phases using a modified phenomenographic analysis. In the first phase a set of categories of description were developed from the student responses. In the second phase the individual responses were classified in terms of the categories. The paper will describe the approach to the analysis, the categories identified, the relationship between the categories and discuss the implications for further research and teaching. Results: The findings indicated that there was a substantial variation in the conceptions and approaches. The majority of students, however, held relatively unsophisticated conceptions of problem based learning which were related to relatively unsophisticated approaches to learning. Conclusion: Students participating in their first PBL subject generally reported unsophisticated conceptions of and approaches to learning which were not linked to professional practice outcomes. However, those completing the last PBL subject had recognised the link between participation in the process and the development of knowledge and skills for professional practice. Introduction Nursing curricula have traditionally followed a content based behaviourist model, with nurse educators deciding what needs to be learnt by students and the manner in which it will be taught. This style has resulted in graduates of these courses trying to utilise knowledge that has often been superseded before their gradua- tion (Bevis, 1989). The decision to implement a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum in the Bachelor of Nursing at La Trobe University was based on the belief that nurses of the future would need to be life long learners, with a flexible and adaptable knowledge base. Therefore, students’ theoretical preparation needed to incorporate elements of the practice setting in order to familiarise them with the processes involved in problem-solving. From a nursing education perspective it was considered that these skills would better prepare graduates to assimilate and integrate into the often unpredictable practice settings. In spite of the soundness of this decision attention must also be paid to the educational issues inherent in changing the teaching/learning methodology. The overall philosophy of the Bachelor of Nursing Course is process orientated in line