Motivations for the Use of Problem-Based Learning (PBL)for Preparation of Undergraduate Nursing Students for Professional Competences: A Literature Review

Traditional nursing education as characterized byclassroom approaches inter alia the lectures, where students are merely passive listeners and more concern about the final grade than learningtends to produce graduate with information to memorize while unable to apply knowledge into practicefor problem solving. Thus the intensive basic lectures, followed by equally exhausting clinical teaching has proven ineffective in preparing professional nurses who are problem-solvers. These factors dictate the need for a shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning by adoptinga problem-based, student-centered and self-directed learning approach in a form of problem-based learning for both classroom and clinical teaching context. As opposed to the traditional reductive lecturing method of teaching, Problem-Based Learning approach is more inductive; students learn contents as they try to solve the problems. Problem-Based Learning approach therefore facilitates the development of disciplinary knowledge bases, skills and problem solving strategies by placing the students in the active role of problem solvers for the problems that are aligned with real-life situation.