scholarly journals A cross-sectional survey on academic librarian involvement in evidence-based medicine instruction within undergraduate medical education programs in Canada

Author(s):  
Zahra Premji ◽  
Kaitlin Fuller ◽  
Rebecca Raworth

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the range of involvement of Canadian academic medical librarians in teaching evidence-based medicine (EBM) within the undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum. This study articulates the various roles that Canadian librarians play in teaching EBM within the UME curriculum, and also highlights their teaching practices. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to a targeted sample of academic librarians currently involved in UME programs in Canadian medical schools. Results: 12 respondents (including one duplicate response) representing ten schools responded to this survey. 7 of 10 respondents were involved in EBM instruction, 3 of 10 institutions had a dedicated EBM course. Librarians were involved in a variety of roles, and often co-created and co-delivered content along with medical school faculty, and were present on course committees. They used a variety of educational strategies, incorporated active learning, as well as online modules. Discussion/Conclusion: The data highlighted the embedded nature of EBM instruction in undergraduate medical education programs in Canada. It also showed that librarians are involved in EBM instruction beyond the second step of EBM; acquiring or searching the literature.

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 786-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rana Abu Farha ◽  
Eman Alefishat ◽  
Maysa Suyagh ◽  
Eman Elayeh ◽  
Amal Mayyas

Author(s):  
Karan B. Bhanushali ◽  
Nikita Gupta ◽  
Vinayak Mishra ◽  
Heena Asnani

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a tremendous amount of literature published regularly. In a country like India, historically, where there is a paternalistic approach to practicing medicine, there is a lot of hindrance to evidence-based medicine (EBM). Doctors have always weighed one's clinical experience superior over any other form of decision-making. This system of practice has made decision-making difficult for the physicians during this pandemic as COVID-19 is a reasonably new disease entity and the physicians lack enough 'prior experience' dealing with such a situation. Our survey tries to address the common barriers to evidence-based medical practices especially during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. We also try to explore the various source of information used by the doctors. Methods: It is a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The questions were provided in multiple-choice question format. An online survey comprising of 10 questions entitled “Hurdles faced by physicians to assimilate evidence-based guidelines on COVID-19” was made using Google Forms (Google Inc, California, US) and circulated through email to medical practitioners in the Ghatkopar (Mumbai, India) Medical Association's register from 17th June 2020 to 1st September 2020. Results: Our survey collected 213 responses, out of which 80.3% (n=171) of doctors were involved in care, counseling, or management of COVID-19 patients. The most opted primary sources for evidence-based information during this pandemic were teachings of/discussions with medical colleagues (71.4%, n=152), followed by online webinars (59.6%, n= 127) and social media (41.8%, n=89). When questioned about the main obstacles faced by them to obtain evidence-based information, the responses were as follows: Overload of medical literature (53.5%, n=114), limited access to quality resources (40.8%, n=87), unfamiliarity with the bio-statistics analysis (39%, n= 83), difficulty in locating relevant medical literature (38%, n=81), unfamiliarity with the research methodology (37.1%, n=79), lack of time (30%, n=64).  Our respondents' perspective concerning EBM attributes: 57.3% (n=122) think evidence-based practice takes their clinical experience into account. 93.4% (n=199) of them have shown an interest in broadening their skills. There was no significant difference between doctors' attitudes with less than 10 years and more than 10 years of experience (chi-square value = 0.857, p = 0.65). Conclusion: Our survey results highlight the balance maintained between evidence-based medicine and experience-based medicine by Indian physicians. They identify the importance of EBM while acknowledging its shortcomings. They realize the significance of developing their repertoire to understand, appraise, and practice EBM. Keywords: EBM, COVID-19


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Aronoff ◽  
Barry Evans ◽  
David Fleece ◽  
Paul Lyons ◽  
Lawrence Kaplan ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misa Mi

Objectives – To determine the year when evidence based medicine (EBM) was introduced and the extent to which medical students were exposed to EBM in undergraduate medical education and to investigate how EBM interventions were designed, developed, implemented, and evaluated in the medical curriculum. Methods – A qualitative review of the literature on EBM interventions was conducted to synthesize results of studies published from January 1997 to December 2011. A comprehensive search was performed on PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, PsycINFO, and ERIC. Articles were selected if the studies involved some form of quantitative and qualitative research design. Articles were excluded if they studied EBM interventions in medical schools outside the United States or if they examined EBM interventions for allied health profession education or at the levels of graduate medical education and continuing medical education. Thirteen studies which met the selection criteria were identified and reviewed. Information was abstracted including study design, year and setting of EBM intervention, instructional method, instruction delivery format, outcome measured, and evaluation method. Results – EBM was introduced to preclinical years in three studies, integrated into clinical clerkship rotations in primary care settings in eight studies, and spanned preclinical and clinical curricula in two studies. The duration of EBM interventions differed, ranging from a workshop of three student contact hours to a curriculum of 30 student contact hours. Five studies incorporated interactive and clinically integrated teaching and learning activities to support student learning. Diverse research designs, EBM interventions, and evaluation methods resulted in heterogeneity in results across the 13 studies. Conclusions – The review reveals wide variations in duration of EBM interventions, instructional methods, delivery formats for EBM instruction, implementation of an EBM intervention, outcomes measured, and evaluation methods, all of which remain relevant issues for further research. It is important for medical educators and health sciences librarians to attend to these issues in designing and delivering a successful EBM intervention in the undergraduate medical curriculum.


2013 ◽  
Vol 88 (7) ◽  
pp. 1022-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Maggio ◽  
Nancy H. Tannery ◽  
H. Carrie Chen ◽  
Olle ten Cate ◽  
Bridget O’Brien

2015 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Bhaskaran Unnikrishnan ◽  
Darshan Bhagwan ◽  
Akshay Sethi ◽  
Rekha Thapar ◽  
Prasanna Mithra ◽  
...  

A facility-based cross sectional study was carried out among 188 doctors working at the Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore, India, to assess the perception and practice of evidence based medicine (EBM) among medical professionals. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and results obtained were expressed in percentages. Results: The mean age of participants was 35 ± 8.33 years. A higher proportion of participants (n=182, 96.8%) referred to textbooks for information for clinical decision making. A majority of the participants (n=180, 95.8%) opined that evidence based medicine should be included in a medical curriculum. More than half of the participants (n=98, 52.1%) used PubMed. A majority (n=150, 79.8%) of the participants had a good level of self-rated confidence in evaluating research, while 55.3% (n=104) of the participants had a good level of self-rated confidence in their ability to conduct clinical appraisals. Lack of time and insufficient EBM skills were the major perceived barriers to practicing evidence based medicine. Conclusion: Positive attitudes and higher awareness regarding EBM among doctors in the present study compared to other reported literature is an encouraging finding. Medical regulators must utilize the best available evidence and experience in formulating policy on medical education and health care.


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