Evidence-Based Medicine Project
Evidence-based Medicine Project
Each EBM project will be approved by individual site directors. The student will be required to:
Week 1 – Identify a clinical problem or a question that you’ve encountered in the care of patients at the clinic site.
Week 2 – Conduct a literature search on that problem or question and pick and article that you want to present.
Beginning, Week 3 – Critique the quality of the information gathered, i.e. are the claims in the article supported by the research, using the Duke University Critical Appraisal Worksheets.
Ending, Week 3 – Be prepared to discuss the article reviewed and conclusions drawn from your research with the site director.* Students will fill out the Evidence-Based Medicine Clerkship Worksheet on the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Undergraduate Education website and submit it electronically to Little Rock.
Last week of the Rotation – All students will meet with an AHEC faculty moderator or Little Rock Site Faculty member and present their project. Students will review their Evidence-Based Medicine Worksheet. This is a requirement of the clerkship.
*If the project is not completed to the satisfaction of the clerkship director, the fourth week of the clerkship will be utilized to address that problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are we studying this?
As new diagnostic tests and treatments become available, physicians have to consider if the way they are practicing medicine is still appropriate. With the increase in medical literature both in printed form and through the Internet, and the increased availability of this information for patients, it is important that physicians learn how to appraise the literature for themselves. They can then apply useful information to their practice.
What is the process of using evidence-based medicine?
Select specific clinical questions from patient’s problem
Search the literature for relevant clinical information
Appraise the evidence for validity and usefulness to the patient ant practice
Implement useful findings in everyday practice
How do I develop a good clinical question?
A good clinical question that can be used to search the medical literature has four main parts:
Who is the patient or what is the problem being addressed?
What is the intervention?
What are the alternatives?
What are the outcomes?
In children under 3 years old (1), is a single Rocephin shot (2) more effective than oral antibiotics (3) to treat recurrent otitis media (4)?
What is the criteria for article selection?
1. All articles should be peer-reviewed and published in a medical/scientific journal.
2. For this exercise, the studies should be limited to experimental designs (Randomized controlled trials), the more scientifically convincing epidemiological/observational studies (Cohort or case control designs), or some combination of any of the 3 designs.
3. Keep in mind that many times information from more than one article is necessary to make a good clinical or research-based decision on any particular topic; however, this exercise is only requiring the selection of one article.
Articles should be patient oriented (POEM) instead of disease oriented.
What is a POEM?
POEMS (Patient Oriented Evidence that Matters) refer to medical research that emphasizes outcomes that are important to patients: morbidity and mortality. DOES (Disease Oriented Evidence) emphasize intermediate outcomes.
Tight control of type 1 diabetes can keep fasting glucose <140 mg/dl
Tight control of type 1 diabetes can decrease mortality and improve quality of life
How do I appraise my chosen article?
Go to this website:
Under “Resources”, choose the Critical Appraisal Worksheet that pertains to your paper and use this as a guideline to review your article. Then use the EBM Worksheet to type up your information for the EBM presentation.
How do I use the Evidence-Based Medicine Worksheet?
Click below for the Evidence-Based Medicine Worksheet. After you have filled it out, save and send to the e-mail address at the bottome of the form. Kathy Carlson will receive the document and add it to your file. Be sure to print a copy so you can read it during the Evidence-Based Medicine student presentation on the last day.
What do I do for the student presentation?
During the last week of the rotation, all students will meet with an faculty moderator and present their project. Students will review their Evidence-Based Medicine Worksheets. No extra presentations, slides, drawings, etc. are needed. After your presentation, questions may be asked by your fellow students or the moderator.