Evidence based education can't rely solely on RCTs

Attempts to make medical education more evidence based need to include information from sources other than those used in traditional research. Greenhalgh and colleagues (p 142) tested the transferability of the principles of evidence based medicine to the development of a quality framework for an online postgraduate course. Much of the available and most useful evidence came from qualitative studies and consensus guidelines rather than randomised controlled trials. The team's appraisal and application of published evidence was crucially informed by a detailed qualitative study of the experiences of students and staff on their course, by their own experience as students on other online courses, and by informal discussion with other course developers.

(Credit: GEOFF TOMPKINSON/SPL)

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Relevant Article

Transferability of principles of evidence based medicine to improve educational quality: systematic review and case study of an online course in primary health care

Trisha Greenhalgh, Peter Toon, Jill Russell, Geoff Wong, Liz Plumb, and Fraser Macfarlane
BMJ 2003 326: 142-145. [Full Text] [PDF]