A highly patient-focused approach to medical teaching, problem-based learning divides students into small groups from the very beginning of the learning process. Specific patient problems, such as a certain condition or group of symptoms, are presented to student groups, who begin to learn the basics of medicine from interacting with particular clinical situations. The medical problems can be presented as hypothetical situations in classrooms, yet this approach tends to emphasize practical work with patients early in the process.
Systems-based learning is a more gradual approach to problem-based instruction. Students begin with more conventional classroom learning, often divided into a series of lectures on specific anatomical systems such as the digestive system or the respiratory tract. Clinical practice is gradually combined with the curriculum, from specific demonstrations relevant to each lecture series to more complete clinical trials in the later years of study. Although the approach offers less clinical experience, many students find that they are better prepared to contribute to clinical work when they are finally integrated into the hospital.
By far the most traditional approach to medical education, subject-based teaching depends heavily on practical and theoretical classroom teaching. Students are educated and tested in basic and advanced medical subjects before even setting foot in a hospital, with clinical work scheduled for the final years of study and only once students have completed all their classroom coursework. Although some medical schools continue to offer a subject-based curriculum, most modern medical schools prefer a more practical approach.
Rapid improvements in computer and laboratory simulations have created a new option for early students to gain hands-on medical experience before they are ready to interact directly with patients. Advanced dissection techniques with digital sensors and detailed computer simulations allow early students to test their practical skills without endangering the well-being of patients, even as they complete basic medical classroom learning. Teaching styles that emphasize these resources tend to begin immediately with practical laboratory work and gradually transition to hospital rounds while academic work progresses, essentially adopting a problem-based approach with enhanced tools that allow students to work on complex problems from the first day.