Exploring the scope of task-based learning in undergraduate medical education

Abstract

The field of medicine is extremely vast and dynamic and it becomes really challenging for the medical undergraduate students to master all the subject specific competencies within the available timeframe of the course. The current review is done with an aim to assess the utility of task-based learning in undergraduate medical education. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine and a total of 13 studies similar to current study objectives were selected for the review. Task-based learning refers to a teaching-learning methodology that is being employed in the clinical years in a medical institution. This method has its root originating from problem-based learning and it also advocates integrated teaching by providing students with a multi-specialty clinical exposure, that eventually creates a number of learning opportunities and makes the entire experience enriching. The selected task should be the one that represents a frequent concern of the local community, and should have specific learning objectives for making progress in clinical medicine. In conclusion, task-based learning is a holistic and a transdisciplinary approach to help the medical students to develop clinical competencies. Further, owing to the integration of clinical and basic science subjects in authentic clinical settings, the students learn the art of providing a holistic clinical care, while being motivated and satisfied with the entire learning experience.