[First mandatory training in evidence-based medicine in the Medical Education Programme of the University of Frankfurt].
Changes in the German medical licensing law in 2002 demanded the inclusion of sound scientific knowledge and practical skills in the medical education programme for undergraduates. The universities were given ample autonomy to implement this goal, so that subjects not yet included in the curricula, such as Evidence-based Medicine (EbM), could now be integrated in the study course. Hence, in 2003 the Medical Faculty of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt/Germany implemented (as first institution) a mandatory clinical training in EbM for third-year medical students. The content and structure of the seminar are based on the "Curriculum EbM" of the German Network of Evidence-Based Medicine. This project is conducted exclusively by intern medical students with previous training in teaching skills and specific knowledge. The seminar is integrated in the interdisciplinary field "Epidemiology, biostatistics, and informatics". The four-day seminars consist of lectures and small-group teaching based on Internet search of medical information as well as on the critical appraisal of studies that deal with therapeutic and diagnostic problems; the self-evaluation of the information-retrieval process is also included. Special importance is attached to the need of scrutinising published medical information. The grades are based on seminar-oriented tests as well as on end-of-term examinations. The Frankfurt project shows that EbM can be easily implemented in medical undergraduate courses.
Bergold
Martin
M
EBM-Frankfurt, Zentrum für Allgemeinmedizin des Universitätsklinikums Frankfurt/Main. Bergold@ebmfrankfurt.de
Ginn
Timothy Charles
TC
Schulze
Johannes
J
Weberschock
Tobias
T
D004501:Education, Medical / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008007:Licensure, Medical / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014495:Universities / Q000592:standards