Assessing undergraduate competence in evidence based medicine: a preliminary study on the correlation between two...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Evidence-Based Medicine Assessment

Background:

• The Fresno test and Berlin Questionnaire are validated tools for assessing evidence-based medicine (EBM) competence.
• Both instruments assess a broad range of EBM knowledge but differ in format.
• Adapted versions were used to simplify presentation for undergraduate medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the correlation between adapted versions of the Fresno test and the Berlin Questionnaire.
• To determine if these instruments are interchangeable for evaluating EBM competence in medical students.

Main Methods:

• Final-year medical students from a Malaysian medical school participated.
• Students completed adapted Fresno test and Berlin Questionnaire concurrently.
• Pearson's or Spearman's correlation was used based on data distribution.

Main Results:

• 72 out of 120 students participated (60% response rate).
• Adapted Fresno test had Cronbach's alpha of 0.66; Berlin Questionnaire had 0.70.
• Overall correlation between instruments was poor (r=0.2, P=0.08), with low correlations between domain-specific items.

Conclusions:

• Adapted Fresno test and Berlin Questionnaire showed poor correlation in medical students.
• The two instruments may not be interchangeable for assessing undergraduate EBM competence.