Self-Evaluated Evidence-Based Medicine Skills Improve among Last Year Medical Student, within Nine Weeks, When Introducing a Blended EBM Teaching Approach

Abstract

The practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) is important for medical students to master to optimize their future clinical decision-making and improve the quality of health care. The aim of this study was to explore Swedish final-year medical students’ self-evaluated EBM skills and to evaluate the effect of actively teaching EBM during a nine-week pediatric course. A control group (n=39) and an intervention group (n=44) consisted of last year medical students enrolled in a nine week pediatric course. Both groups only differed by the year of starting the studies: year 2012 vs year 2013. Students anonymously self-evaluated their EBM skills at the beginning and at the end of the course. The intervention consisted of blended EBM teaching by medical teachers in both class room and clinical settings. The control group did not receive an intervention. The participation rate in the intervention group was 91% (40/44) and in the control group 75% (29/39). Students’ overall baseline EBM skills score was 5.1 (on a scale of 10) in the intervention group and 5.5 in the control group. After the intervention, searching for EBM increased by 1.45 (95% CI: 0.78–2.11), critically appraising EBM increased by 1.51 (95% CI: 0.88–2.15), and applying EBM in patient care increased by 2.08 (95% CI: 1.46–2.70). The findings show that many final-year Swedish medical students rate their own EBM skills as low. However, it is possible with a small investment of time from the medical teacher during a nine-week pediatric course to significantly improve students’ self-evaluated EBM skills.