OBJECTIVES: The last decade has witnessed a rapid expansion of biomedical knowledge. Despite this, fashions in medical education over the same period have shifted away from factual (didactic) teaching and towards contextual, or problem-based, learning (PBL). This paradigm shift has been justified by studies showing that PBL improves reasoning and communication while being associated with few if any detectable knowledge deficits. METHODS: A retrospective and comparative analytical approach was used. Data on final Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) exam grades, collected from PBL or traditionally trained students, and on teaching process, were obtained for a total of 2220 students. The data collection took place between 2003-2008, in two major locations in Hungary and in Finland. The data analysis was done with Chi-square and ANOVA using SPSS14.0. PBL and traditional teaching methods were compared as well as the schools themselves. RESULTS: Students who received PBL training had better final CPR exam grades than traditionally trained peers. T-test on means yielded significant differences (t=3569; p<0.001) between PBL and conventional training favouring PBL taught students. The only significant difference among universities was found for PBL training. There was no difference between the two universities in terms of final CPR grades when traditional training was concerned. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to indicate significant differences in the perception of the development of problem solving skills between the two countries with the help of the khi square trial (khi2=17,974 f=3  p <0.01). The Finnish evaluated the efficiency of this method, in regard to developing problem solving skills, considerably higher than their Hungarian peers.One of the new and important messages of the study is to emphasise that the process of learning will not extend in one dimension for the whole life, and it will not confined just for the formal school education.