Students don't appraise studies, they just interpret results

When assessing the validity of their clinical decisions according to newly acquired evidence, medical students can correctly apply study results but often fail to take account of how well designed the study was. Evidence based medicine is increasingly emphasised in medical schools, but few studies assess the ability of students to apply research evidence to clinical decisions. In a randomised study Schwartz and Hupert (p 536) presented literature with varying validity of methods and varying levels of importance of results to students who had examined a standardised patient. They then measured changes in students' beliefs about their decisions in managing the patient. Evidence of low importance led to more incorrect shifts in decisions, but neither the validity of methods nor the interaction between validity and importance influenced students' certainty about the correctness of their treatment decisions.

(Credit: JOSE GOITIA/AP)

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Relevant Article

Medical students' application of published evidence: randomised trial

Alan Schwartz and Jordan Hupert
BMJ 2003 326: 536-538. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]