A qualitative study about critical appraisal of medical literature learning among medical students

Skills in critical appraisal of medical literature are compulsory to achieve in medical practice. This step is the third step of the evidence-based medicine process whose main role is to bridge a gap between scientific evidence and practice. Acquiring skills in critical appraisal of the literature has been reported to be challenging for the trainees with different limits according to their levels, backgrounds or specialties.

To assess the limits and factors influencing the practice of appraising literature of different students from the same faculty. This faculty included training of biostatistics and preventive medicine in the curriculum during the first 2 years of medical education without linking this learning to the evidence-based medicine practice.

The authors performed a qualitative study including volunteers who attended voluntarily the same training about critical appraisal of medical literature. The study was based on a satisfaction questionnaire fulfilled by all the participants at the end of the training and on an individual semi-structured interviews programmed 3 months after the training. The satisfaction questionnaire was rated by the authors. The authors proceeded also to a content analysis of the interviews following 3 steps: pre-analysis, treatment of the results, and interpretation.

All the participants (95) fulfilled the questionnaire. The satisfaction's mean score revealed a general moderate satisfaction. Eleven students agreed to be interviewed: Five students from the third year of medical education, 2 students from the second year of medical education, 2 postgraduate students and 2 family doctors. The main themes discussed by the interviewees consisted of training organization, the assessment, the impact on research and the impact on the care process.

To promote EBM learning, medical students first need to actively participate to interactive learning, introduced early and gradually into the curriculum and integrating all specialties including postgraduate students.