Does integrating research into the prosthetics and orthotics undergraduate curriculum enhance students' clinical practice? An interview study on students' perception.

BACKGROUND: Problem-based learning (where rather than feeding students the knowledge, they look for it themselves) has long been thought of as an ideal approach in teaching because it would encourage students to acquire knowledge from an undetermined medium of wrong and right answers. However, the effect of such approach in the learning experience of prosthetics and orthotics students has never been investigated.
OBJECTIVES: This study explores the implications of integrating problem-based learning into teaching on the students' learning experience via implementing a research-informed clinical practice module into the curriculum of last year prosthetics and orthotics undergraduate students at the University of Jordan (Amman, Jordan). STUDY
DESIGN: Qualitative research pilot study.
METHODS: Grounded theory approach was used based on the data collected from interviewing a focus group of four students.
RESULTS: Students have identified a number of arguments from their experience in the research-informed clinical practice where, generally speaking, students described research-informed clinical practice as a very good method of education.
CONCLUSION: Integrating problem-based learning into teaching has many positive implications. In particular, students pointed out that their learning experience and clinical practice have much improved after the research-informed clinical practice. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings from this investigation demonstrate that embedding problem-based learning into prosthetics and orthotics students' curriculum has the potential to enhance students' learning experience, particularly students' evidence-based practice. This may lead to graduates who are more knowledgeable and thus who can offer the optimal patient care (i.e. clinical practice). © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2014.