Learning evidence-based veterinary medicine through development of a critically appraised topic

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Medical Informatics
• Information Science

Background:

• Evidence-based veterinary medicine is an emerging discipline.
• The digital age presents vast amounts of medical information, necessitating effective evaluation methods.
• Critically Appraised Topics (CATs) offer a structured approach to synthesizing evidence for clinical questions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and educational impact of assigning CAT development to first-year veterinary students.
• To evaluate students' ability to gather and critically appraise veterinary medical literature.

Main Methods:

• First-year veterinary students were tasked with developing a CAT as a course project.
• Students conducted literature searches to find relevant evidence for a clinical question.
• The process involved summarizing and evaluating the gathered information.

Main Results:

• Students demonstrated proficiency in developing CATs.
• The project successfully improved students' comprehension of evidence-based veterinary medicine concepts.
• The CAT development exercise was deemed a valuable learning activity.

Conclusions:

• Assigning CAT development is an effective pedagogical tool for teaching evidence-based veterinary medicine.
• This project provides a practical method for students to manage and interpret overwhelming medical information.
• The CAT project will continue as a core component of the veterinary curriculum.