JIAMSE © IAMSE 2006 Volume 16  35 The Satisfaction Levels of Students on Academic Support and Facilities, Educational Activities and Tutor Performance in a PBL Program Berna Musal, M.D., MHPE 1 , Yucel Gursel, M.D. 1 , Sema Ozan, M.D. 1 , H. Cahit Taskiran, M.D. 1 and Henk van Berkel, Ph.D. 2 1 Department of Medical Education Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, 35340 Inciralti Izmir, Turkey. 2 Department of Educational Development and Research Maastricht University The Netherlands. Phone: +90-232-4124680 Fax: +90-232-2590541 Email: berna.musal@deu.edu.tr ABSTRACT Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine changed its curriculum from a traditional one to a Problem-based Learning (PBL) curriculum in 1997. The objectives of this study were to investigate students’ satisfaction levels regarding academic support, facilities of the School, educational activities and tutor performance and to compare the satisfaction levels in different years. At the end of each of the academic years 1999, 2001 and 2003 satisfaction levels, opinions, and expectations of the students were determined with a questionnaire. On a five point scale (1:min, 5:max), the satisfaction scores for academic support and facilities of the School varied between 1.9±1.1 and 4.2±0.9 and the scores on educational activities varied between 2.8±1.4 and 4.1±0.9. The points attributed to PBL sessions, professional skills program, basic science practicals, and self-study activities were higher than the overall assessment point of educational activities. The performance scores of the tutors given by the students varied between 3.5±1.0 and 4.4±0.9. The highest satisfaction scores were observed in 1999, followed by a moderate decrease in 2001, and a moderate increase in 2003. As part of the program evaluation studies, the findings of the present study were evaluated and necessary revisions were made. The present study may constitute an example of using student feedback in evaluation and revision of PBL programs. INTRODUCTION Since the early eighties, growing awareness of the discrepancy between the undergraduate medical education and Turkey’s basic health needs started a review process regarding the undergraduate education of physicians. A Turkish Parliament report in 1991, demonstrated that only a slight proportion of medical practitioners were capable of coping with the health demands of the country. 1 The main problems of medical education declared by the Turkish Medical Association were the lack of integration between basic and clinical sciences, incompetence of physicians in basic professional skills, the lack of awareness of community health problems and difficulties in the transfer of acquired knowledge and skills to professional life. 2 These reports and International developments in the field of medical education led Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine (DEUSM) to seek solutions to the problems of undergraduate medical education. Based on our literature review, preparatory visits to PBL implementing medical schools and considering PBL principles such as a student centered approach, facilitation of integration of basic and clinical sciences, learning to learn and transfer of knowledge and skills to professional life, a PBL curriculum was adopted. Its implementation started in the 1997-1998 academic year. 3 The duration of our undergraduate medical education is six years and PBL is the principal educational strategy in the first three years of the undergraduate program. Task-based learning was adopted as an educational strategy for clerkships in the 2000-2001 academic year. 4,5 The first three years of undergraduate education are structured on a modular basis. Through PBL sessions, which are the main foci of the modules, the curriculum focuses on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, and evaluation in the cognitive domain. PBL provides a learning environment in which competence is fostered not primarily by teaching to