Preparing Faculty Members as PBL Tutors in King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah Saudi Arabia

Objectives: The objective of this study describes the framework for the development of faculty members at FOM KAU to assume the role of PBL and to document the participation level in the PBL facilitation workshops from both the Clinical and Basic Departments. Methods: The study was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine at King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah-Saudi Arabia during the academic years 2008-2010. Data was collected from attendance records of all conducted PBL facilitation workshops and from the PBL facilitation workshops description and activity records. Results: Nearly 50 percent of faculty members have participated in the PBL facilitation workshops throughout the academic years of (2008-2010). In 2009, Clinical departments showed statistically significant higher participation level than Basic sciences departments. Conclusion: The results showed that there is a high participation rate from the basic and clinical department throughout the three years with a statistically significant increase in the participation of the clinical department in 2009. The findings suggest the importance of administration support in the initiation and running a faculty developmental program. Further investigation of the factors that might affect the participation level of different departments is needed.