This study was designed to assess learning effectiveness of a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum in terms of costs, learning materials, and student satisfaction. Students and tutors participating in the PBL curriculum in the 1998 and 1999 semesters were included in this study. Study data were collected by having subjects fill out self-rating questionnaires. Preliminary results revealed that there were large individual differences among tutors in the amount of time spent on course preparation and discussions with students outside the classroom. Some tutors spent more time on course preparation and post-class discussion than they did attending tutorials. Most of the tutors replied that the PBL tutorials only very mildly influenced their other activities. Clinical activities were affected the most, followed by research activities. The overall satisfaction rate for the learning materials was 75% Items including 'increasing understanding of basic courses', 'providing basic knowledge', 'providing important concepts', 'arousing interest', 'having appropriate broadness', and 'having appropriate depth' were satisfactory to more than 70% of the raters. 'Meeting different learning needs' and 'promoting critical thinking' were rated as less satisfactory. More than 70% of the students were satisfied with the learning effectiveness of the PBL curriculum. This was especially true for third-year students. Except for a relatively few items, the PBL curriculum seems to be satisfactory both students and tutors. Differences in time consumption and influences on clinical and research activities among different tutors deserve further observation.