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Subject Guide - Evidence based practice

What is Evidence Based Medicine?

About this guide

This guide aims to collect all the best tips, advice and resources to help to locate evidence to support the practice of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM).

What is EBM?

Evidence Based Medicine is an approach to forming medical knowledge, based on systematic and unbiased methods of appraising scientific evidence (Source: BestBETs).

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values (Source: Ebling Library, University of Wisconsin).

The Key Steps in Evidence Based Practice (EBP) (continues in What is EBM?)

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the inclusive term which the principles of EBM are founded; primarily EBP is based on five well defined steps.

  • Step One: Asking Focused Questions: translation of uncertainty to an answerable question
  • Step Two: Finding the Evidence: systematic retrieval of best evidence available
  • Step Three: Critical Appraisal: testing evidence for validity, clinical relevance, and applicability
  • Step Four: Applying the Evidence: application of results in practice
  • Step Five: Evaluating Performance: auditing evidence-based decisions