Evidence-based medicine as an educational discipline—experience of implementation in undergraduates and doctors training

Abstract

Background: Studying of evidence-based approach in medicine by future health professionals and medical practitioners is an essential part of their life-long education that leads to improvement of quality of healthcare in total.

Purpose: To analyze and share the experience in evidence-based medicine teaching of the Chair of evidence-based medicine and clinical diagnostics of the Faculty of advanced training and retraining, Vitebsk State order of Peoples’ friendship Medical University.

Research Design, Study Sample, Data Collection and/or Analysis: Internet searches of the literature were conducted to find information about approaches to studying evidence-based medicine (EBM) in different medical universities in the Republic of Belarus and other countries. An analysis of questionnaires for doctors and pharmacists who took advanced training courses was carried out.

Results: In the educational process educational institutions (including our University) use various teaching modalities. Despite a huge variability of teaching approaches, no significant difference in teaching results as knowledge and attitudes were revealed; practical skills and EBM-related behavior were formed more successfully when using practically oriented teaching modalities. Students and doctors shown the great interest for studying EBM. Discussing of issues related to EBM is of interest to the participants of the training courses and is noted by them as an essential part of the training of doctors.

Conclusions: Studying of EBM as a separate discipline in a university allows to use science-based approach in the process of education, to make the knowledge more structured and qualitative. General principles of EBM should be reflected in the content of professional training courses for doctors. Understanding of general principles of EBM makes the interpretation of medical information and its implementation in clinical practice by doctors more reasonable and helps to achieve better results in the of patient management process.