Perspective Chapter: Evidence-Based Medicine - A New Approach for Medical Education and Practice

Abstract

The new concept is gaining worldwide recognition and acceptance in medical education and practice. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the term used to describe this novel approach to the teaching and practice of medicine. The purpose of this chapter is to give you a brief overview of the components of EBM, EBM principles, the steps of EBM practice, and the skills required for EBM that can shape your approach toward EBM. A review of the English-language literature was conducted in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google to obtain EBM definitions, the components of EBM, EBM principles, the steps of EBM practice, and the skills required for EBM. EBM is the integration of the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. It consists of three basic components: the best available evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values. The integration of these three components can be effectively achieved by completing the five steps of the EBM practice. The five-step process of EBM is asking, acquiring, appraising, applying the evidence in clinical decisions, and assessing the outcome.