An evidence-based medicine elective course to improve student performance in advanced pharmacy practice experiences

To implement and evaluate the impact of an elective evidence-based medicine (EBM) course on student performance during advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs).

A 2-hour elective course was implemented using active-learning techniques including case studies and problem-based learning, journal club simulations, and student-driven wiki pages. The small class size (15 students) encouraged independent student learning, allowing students to serve as the instructors and guest faculty members from a variety of disciplines to facilitate discussions.

Pre- and posttests found that students improved on 83% of the core evidence-based medicine concepts evaluated. Fifty-four APPE preceptors were surveyed to compare the performance of students who had completed the EBM course prior to starting their APPEs with students who had not. Of the 38 (70%) who responded, the majority (86.9%) agreed that students who had completed the course had stronger skills in applying evidence-based medicine to patient care than other students. The 14 students who completed the elective also were surveyed after completing their APPEs and the 11 who responded agreed the class had improved their skills and provided confidence in using the medical literature.

The skill set acquired from this EBM course improved students' performance in APPEs. Evidence-based medicine and literature search skills should receive more emphasis in the pharmacy curriculum.