Evidence-based medicine and problem based learning a critical re-evaluation

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been the subject of controversy since it was introduced in 1992. However, it has yet to be critically examined as an alternative paradigm for medical education, which is how it was proposed. This commentary examines EBM on the terms on which it was originally advanced and within the context that gave rise to it, the problem-based learning (PBL) environment at McMaster University in the 1970s and 80s. The EBM educational prescription is revealed to be aligned with the information processing psychology (IPP) model of learning through acquisition of general problem solving skills that characterized the early McMaster version of PBL. The IPP model has been identified in the literature as discordant with an alternative, constructivist, model that emerged at Maastricht University in the Netherlands over the subsequent period. Strengths and weaknesses of EBM are identified from the standpoint of the underlying cognitive theories. Principles are proposed with which to guide an educationally viable approach to learning and teaching the valuable skills included within the original EBM formula.