PA661 Epidemiology and Principles of Evidence Based Medicine
The first course in the research series introduces the student to the concepts of evidence-based medicine and clinical research design and includes an exploration of the principles of epidemiological research and its application to clinical care. The student learns how to identify a patient problem, prepare a well-constructed clinical question based on the problem, and perform a medical literature search that yields optimal results to answer the question. Methods for critically appraising the medical literature are emphasized throughout the course, as well as strategies for keeping up with new medical findings relevant to clinical practice.At the conclusion of the course, the student will have developed a clinical question, performed a medical literature search to answer the question, and drafted an evidence based practice manuscript to be revised and completed in a subsequent research course.