Physician Associate Studies: Evidence Based Practice
What is Evidence Based Practice?
"Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research." (Sackett et al., 1996, p. 71).
Sackett, D.L., Rosenberg, W.M., Gray, J.A., Haynes, R.B., Richardson, W.S., 1996. Evidence-based medicine: What it is and what it isn’t. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 312(7023), 71–2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.312.7023.71
Please note: This guide uses the phrase evidence-based medicine interchangeably with evidence-based practice.
Steps of Evidence Based Practice
Steps in the EBM process with links to pages in this guide
- Ask a searchable clinical question
- Acquire the evidence
- Appraise the evidence for validity, applicability, and timeliness
- Apply information by integrating into your clinical decision-making process
- Audit evaluate the previous 4 steps
What is EBM?
EBM integrates:
- the best available research evidence;
- the clinician's expertise;
- and the patient's values & preferences
