Top six mistakes in teaching EBM (2004-09-24)

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I attended a lunch roundtable session on the role of statisticians in teaching Evidence-Based practice to future clinicians. I didn't get a chance to write up a summary of this, but I wanted to share a handout that the roundtable leader, Renee Stolove, shared with the group.

The top six mistakes we've made or seen in teaching EBM.

1. Teaching learners how to do research (rather than how to use it).
2. Teaching learners how to perform statistical analyses (rather than how to interpret them).
3. Teaching a pre-set series of content topics (rather than have content determined by patients' problems).
4. Evaluating learners on the basis of their retention of facts (rather than their skills in obtaining, appraising, and applying "facts" to patients).
5. Striving for closure by the end of every session (rather than leaving plenty to think about between sessions).
6. Assuming that the necessary skills can be taught in Statistics, Research, or EBP courses alone.

Adapted from Evidence-Based Medicine. How to Teach and Practice EBM. Sackett, Straus, Richardson, Rosenberg, and Haynes 2000.