Foundations of database searching: integrating evidence-based medicine into the medical curriculum

Library integration into the medical school curriculum is a crucial aspect of meeting Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Accreditation Standards and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Medical School Objectives Project (MSOP) guidelines. To accomplish this, academic health sciences libraries seek to develop evidence-based medicine (EBM) literature searching classes within the medical school curriculum. Establishing a basic understanding of the fundamental concepts behind health sciences database searching among medical students is a prerequisite for a more demanding evidence-based literature searching curriculum. The George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, Penn State College of Medicine, sought to incorporate an evidence-based medicine literature searching structure by working within the existing problem-based learning system during the preclinical years. Students in the clinical years will participate in evidence-based assignments during their rotations. A fourth-year EBM elective will be created to reinforce and round out students' exposure to these concepts.