Ambulatory Morning Report: A Case-Based Method of Teaching EBM Through Experiential Learning

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Evidence-Based Medicine
• Adult Learning Theory

Background:

• Physicians-in-training often lack confidence in applying evidence-based medicine (EBM) skills.
• Kolb's experiential learning theory provides a framework for developing EBM proficiency through practical experience.
• Traditional EBM curricula may not adequately prepare residents for real-time clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and evaluate a novel ambulatory morning report curriculum.
• To integrate the User's Guides to the Medical Literature approach with Kolb's experiential learning theory.
• To enhance residents' ability to incorporate EBM into daily practice.

Main Methods:

• A patient-centered morning report format was utilized.
• Residents developed clinical questions from patient encounters.
• New knowledge was acquired through article evaluation and applied to subsequent patient care.

Main Results:

• A 92% completion rate was achieved for the EBM test (n=61).
• The curriculum resulted in modest improvements in EBM knowledge.
• Knowledge gains were most pronounced during the first year of residency.

Conclusions:

• The developed experiential curriculum effectively teaches essential EBM skills.
• This approach uniquely blends experiential learning with EBM skill acquisition.
• Learners demonstrated the ability to apply new EBM knowledge in real-time clinical settings.