Evidence-based medicine in the education of psychiatrists

Abstract

Objective: Evidence-based medicine has an important place in the teaching and practice of psychiatry. Attempts to teach evidence-based medicine skills can be weakened by conceptual confusions feeding a false polarization between traditional clinical skills and evidence-based medicine.

Methods: The author develops a broader conception of clinical expertise consisting of three tasks, clarifies the role of evidence-based medicine, and explores the implications for teaching and practice.

Results: Evidence-based medicine is an essential tool that enables clinicians to assess causal explanations in etiology, risk, or prognosis, or to compare treatments.

Conclusion: An explicit and inclusive conceptualization of clinical skills can provide a framework to implement and assess curricular efforts to teach evidence-based medicine.