Promoting evidence based medicine in preclinical medical students via a federated literature search tool.
BACKGROUND
Medical educators are increasingly faced with directives to teach Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) skills. Because of its nature, integrating fundamental EBM educational content is a challenge in the preclinical years.


OBJECTIVE
To analyse preclinical medical student user satisfaction and feedback regarding a clinical EBM search strategy.


METHODS
The authors introduced a custom EBM search option with a self-contained education structure to first-year medical students. The implementation took advantage of a major curricular change towards case-based instruction. Medical student views and experiences were studied regarding the tool's convenience, problems and the degree to which they used it to answer questions raised by case-based instruction.


RESULTS
Surveys were completed by 70% of the available first-year students. Student satisfaction and experiences were strongly positive towards the EBM strategy, especially of the tool's convenience and utility for answering issues raised during case-based learning sessions. About 90% of the students responded that the tool was easy to use, productive and accessed for half or more of their search needs.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides evidence that the integration of an educational EBM search tool can be positively received by preclinical medical students.
Keim
Samuel Mark
SM
Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724-5057, USA. sam@aemrc.arizona.edu
Howse
David
D
Bracke
Paul
P
Mendoza
Kathryn
K
D001130:Arizona; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*