ICML 2009: Continuing Education: EBM: Introduction to Study Design and Critical Appraisal

Presenter/s: Ms Connie Schardt, Medical Center Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. [MLA accreditation]

Biography: Connie Schardt is the Associate Director for Public Services at the Medical Center Library, Duke University. Primary responsibilities are to promote and support EBM in clinical, research and educational settings. This involves developing an EBM curriculum and presenting instructional sessions for faculty, residents, and students. In addition Ms. Schardt has developed the content for Introduction to Evidence-based Medicine, a web-based tutorial. As adjunct faculty at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Ms. Schardt teaches EBM and the Medical Librarian to library students and practicing librarians in the US, Canada, and other countries. Since 2001, Ms. Schardt has served as a librarian-tutor for How to Teach Evidence Based Clinical Practice, held annually at McMaster University. She is also a Co-Director of the Program on Teaching Evidence Based Practice, which has conducted an annual EBM workshop at Duke University since 2003.

Session: This course is designed to give learners an introduction to critical appraisal skills through an understanding of basic study designs and validity issues related to reducing bias in clinical studies. The course will focus on understanding the basic study designs in medicine (case-control, cohort, randomized controlled clinical trial, systematic review, and Meta analysis). Learners will also discuss the criteria for determining internal validity of therapy studies and systematic reviews. After completing this course, learners will be better able to: identify appropriate study designs; identify validity criteria; help support evidence-based medicine within their own institutions. Teaching methods will include discussion, case studies, group exercises, and practice in appraising articles.