A new methodology for teaching clinical reasoning skills: problem solving clinical seminars.

In the final year of the medical curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), a new methodology for teaching clinical skills was introduced: Problem Solving Clinical Seminars (PSCS). Two eight-week series of 70 seminars were offered. Students prepared for the seminars in groups of five students who worked on one or more clinical cases followed by half-open questions. Additional information was collected individually. At the clinical seminar the solutions were presented and discussed, guided by a clinical teacher. A questionnaire was administered to investigate whether students perceive the new type of clinical seminars as a powerful learning environment. Students were satisfied with the new methodology. The importance of the postulated educational aspects--preparation, clinical case and the seminar--was confirmed. The preparation phase (self-study and group work) and the clinical seminar were experienced as two separate and important learning events. The implementation of the problem solving clinical seminars is considered by students to be a powerful learning environment and therefore a broader applicability of the PSCS methodology is recommended.