Evidence Training at the Transition: Preparing Almost-Doctors for Practical Searching and Interpreting of Summary Literature

A core entrustable professional activity necessary for medical students to enter residency is to retrieve evidence to advance patient care. However, many medical students-even after completing formal evidence-based medicine (EBM) coursework and clinical clerkships-feel underprepared to find and utilize high-quality medical literature to guide point-of-care clinical practice. Finishing medical students need tools to expediently find relevant evidence to care for their patients. While many medical schools have adopted EBM curricula that teach students to interpret literature, few focus on efficient use of electronic tools and structured interpretation of summary literature. This workshop will describe and interactively demonstrate a framework for a fourth-year medical student advanced EBM course (two half-days, part of a month-long student capstone course) that empowers students to efficiently locate evidence using electronic tools and medical apps while engaging students to teach each other. Presenters will explain different ways students can find information using both "push" and "pull" approaches; utilize and organize mobile medical applications; and how faculty can engagingly teach these concepts with students entering diverse specialties. In interactive small groups, presenters will simulate teaching critical appraisal of high-quality literature, including systematic reviews/meta-analysis and guidelines. Participants will leave with skills and tools to learn and teach critical appraisal of summary literature; and with resources and framework to quickly locate high-quality evidence to guide clinical decision making. Participants will be equipped to train students (or residents) and can incorporate provided framework into a transition curriculum for senior medical students or other trainees