Finding answers to your PBL questions
In your PBL group, you’ll be presented with a real-world problem or scenario, and will work together to find a solution and answer clinical questions. You’ll have to use your skills and knowledge to piece together information from the different subject areas on the course, and research new information. You’ll then be able to draw upon your skills to figure out how this all fits together, enabling you to see the big picture of a patient’s case and form a solution.
Developing your research skills and identifying high-quality resources are key to this process.
PBL questions are often background questions
Background questions ask for general knowledge of disease processes or clinical contexts; they ask “who, what, when, why, where or how” about a single disease, drug, intervention or concept.
They often look like this:
- Where is the pituitary gland located, what are it’s functions?
- When do patients need to undergo a triple assessment?
- How is GORD diagnosed?
- What is the mechanism of action of paracetamol (acetaminophen )?
Using Google
The resources presented in this page are places to go so you can ensure you get the right facts.
For more information about using the web and Wikipedia, including using Google advanced search visit the “Using the Web for Research” tab
High-quality resources for PBL
Books are really useful resources to answer background questions, especially when it includes underpinning science, eg:
1. Where is the pituitary gland located, what are it’s functions?
They can also help with clinical questions like:
2. When do patients need to undergo a triple assessment?
3. How is GORD diagnosed?
Medicine eBook collections
Contain high quality medicine and health titles. You can search across the full text of all titles within a collection at once.
Reading Lists
Another great place to find books and eBooks recommended by your lecturers. Access your Reading List via the Library button on Canvas or the Library Reading List link on the sidebar of Canvas homepage .
Use clinical practice summaries and guidelines for finding out current best evidence for clinical decisions like questions:
2. When do patients need to undergo a triple assessment?
3. How is GORD diagnosed?
Trip Medical Database 
Trip is a clinical search engine containing find high-quality research evidence to support practice and/or care. It includes summaries, guidelines and selected primary literature, giving you a wide range of high-quality resources to look at in one search.
For guidelines relating to the uses of medicines or their mechanisms, such as:
4. What is the mechanism of action of paracetamol (acetaminophen )?
British National Formulary (BNF) and British National Formulary for Children (BNFC)
Drug information. Up-to-date guidance on prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines. Details of medicines with special reference to their uses, cautions, contra-indications, side-effects, doses, and relative costs.
DrugBank Online
Combines drug (i.e. chemical, pharmacological and pharmaceutical) data with drug target (i.e. sequence, structure, and pathway) information.