Formal instruction is generally confined to the morning, leaving the afternoons free for self-study and taking electives. Some highly regarded NP courses, like The Life Cycle, a favorite, were dropped. All factions gave ground, with feelings of loss in many quarters. Since the first experimental cohort matriculated in 1985, the NP has produced over 800 graduates, including dental students, whose participation in the first two years of the curriculum has triggered substantial curricular reforms in the Dental School. Some assume the NP to be a model of pure problem-based learning, but it is a hybrid that amalgamates several pedagogical and curricular approaches.
Tutorials prevail, but there are also lectures-sometimes two per day.
The NP is truly an evolving entity. Medical Education 26, 190-199. Innovative Tracks at Established Institutions for the Education of Health Personnel. World Health Organization, Geneva. The effects of compulsory participation of medical students in problem-based learning.