Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of problem- based learning (PBL) combined with evidence- based medicine (EBM) on clinical teaching for postgraduates of spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Methods Postgraduates who studied in our ward between April 2010 to March 2012 were enrolled as control group (n=12) and received traditional teaching. Postgraduates who studied in our ward between April 2012 to March 2014 were enrolled as test group (n=12) and received PBL combined EBM in addition. Their achievement of academic and practical (case analysis) tests were compared, and they were investigated with questionnaire of satisfaction. Results There was no significant difference between the groups in achievement of academic and practical (case analysis) tests (P>0.05). The score of progressive knowledge was significantly higher in the test group than in the control group (P<0.01). The results of questionnaire showed that the level of literature retrieval, English, self-learning and analyzing-summarizing improved more in the test group than in the control group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of improvement of clinical thinking, nor of the satisfaction about teacher and teaching method (P>0.05). Conclusion PBL combined with EBM can improve the teaching for postgraduates majored in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

Key words: spinal cord injury, rehabilitation, problem-based learning, evidence-based medicine, postgraduates