Context: To compare the academic performance of the undergraduate medical students on the traditional curriculum with didactic lectures with that of the students who followed an innovative curriculum with case-based learning in biochemistry. . Methods: The study was conducted in Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The participants (n = 150) were Ist year MBBS students studying in the Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha University, during the academic year from 2008-2009. All the 150 students were divided into two groups as the control group and the study group. A total of 75 students on the traditional curriculum as the control group and 75 students on the innovative curriculum as a study group were studied. Outcomes: The educational outcomes which were assessed were the marks in the written examination (i.e. based on the student?s performance) on the traditional Curriculum with didactic lectures and those on the innovative curriculum with Case Based Learning (CBL). The students were asked to evaluate the relevance for the learning process of the use of Case Based Learning with regard to 13 items on a 5 point Likert scale. Results: A total of 75 students on the traditional curriculum and 75 students on the innovative curriculum were studied. The performance of the students on the innovative curriculum with Case Based Learning was found to be significantly improved (P < 0.001) when compared to the performance of the students on the traditional curriculum, in terms of clinical knowledge. A 5 point Likert scale questionnaire containing 13 questions was administered to the students to know their perception on the usefulness of the CBL and this was completed by all the 150 students of Ist year MBBS. 98% of the students reported that in CBL sessions, a valuable exchange of ideas took place in group discussions. 97% of the students thought that by virtue of the CBL sessions, understanding of the subject / topic was better and all the students reported that it was helpful in terms of the future application of knowledge. Conclusion: The introduction of the innovative curriculum with case based learning coincided with improved academic performance. The students opined that this innovative method to learn bio-chemistry trained them in self learning skills and improved their attitude towards the newer trends in medical education. The students perceived the CBL method to be a valuable learning tool in biochemistry which improved their reasoning skills and motivated them to learn.
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