Evidence-based medicine teaching in the Mexican army medical school

Abstract

Training of medical students must include the skills necessary to use advances in scientific research. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been incorporated in undergraduate programs in several countries, a process that has not been well studied in developing countries’ medical schools. An EBM course was incorporated into the curriculum of the Mexican Army Medical School. In the first year of its implementation it was given to half the fifth- and sixth-year groups. At the end of the semester, a previously validated questionnaire designed to evaluate the effectiveness of EBM teaching was administered. In total, 67 students took the course and 64 did not. A significant increase in the self-assessment of critical appraisal skills and the self-reported use of the Cochrane Library were found. There was a significant increase in the attitudes score, 22.9 ± 5.9 (mean ± SD) in the non-EBM group vs. 28.8 ± 3.2 in the EBM group (p < 0.001), and a trend towards higher scores in the knowledge domain, 1.89 ± 3.3 in the non-EBM group vs. 2.56 ± 3.6 in the EBM group (p > 0.05). EBM concepts can be taught in a developing country medical school, with a short-term gain in attitude and probably in knowledge.