Problem Based Learning Applied to Practice in Medical Schools in Brazil: A Mini-Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Active learning is a well-established educational methodology in medical school worldwide. Although its implementation in Brazilian clinical settings is quite challenging. The objective of this study is to review the literature in a systematic manner to find and conduct a reflective analysis of how PBL has been applied in clinical teaching in Brazilian medicine schools. Material & methods A systematic literature search was conducted in three databases. A total of 250 papers related to PBL in Brazilian medical school were identified thought the databases search. Four studies were finally selected for the review. Results Four fields of medicine were explored on the four selected papers: gynecology/family medicine, medical semiology, psychiatry, and pediatrics. Overall, all the papers reported some level of strategic adaptability of the original PBL methodology to better applied in the Brazilian medical schools curricula and country peculiar characteristics. Conclusion PBL application in Brazilian medical school suffers some level of alteration from the original format, to better adapted to the peculiarities of Brazilian students maturity, health system priorities and medical labor market.