Students perception of the various teaching methods used in the primary health care course in the Abha , College of Medicine

OBJECTIVE: To describe students perception of the various teaching methods used in the Primary Health Care (PHC) course concerning the scientific material presented, information processing as well as motivation and importance attached by the students to each method.

METHODS: A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was filled by the students of the sixth year (n=51) at the end of the course. This was structured into 3 main parts: a general part addressing the objectives of the course, the suitability of the course contents, the references and the importance of the course for the future career. The second part dealt with the suitability of the used teaching methods and the last part was for students scoring to items related to scientific material, information processing and motivation for each method. The study took place in the scholar year 2001- 2002.

RESULTS: A high percentage of students (93.3%) agreed with the importance of the course, the objectives were fully fulfilled for 72.1% of students while two thirds of students (66.7%) felt that there is a need to add or remove topics from the course. The pratical sessions were suitable methods for 76.7% of students and clinical sessions for 73.3% of students. Seminars had the lowest scores for understanding the scientific material presented (mean score 5.8) as well as the lowest score for enhancing critical thinking (mean score 4.0). Lectures and problem solving exercises received fairly good attendance priority (mean scores 8.3 and 8.7).

CONCLUSION: The teaching methods for the PHC course need to be reviewed in the light of the present study. Students perceptions are to be studied regularly in order to tailor courses that meet the needs of the students and reach an acceptable standards.