Healthy Skepticism Library item: 11262

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Publication type: Journal Article

Todres M, Stephenson A, Jones R.
Medical education research remains the poor relation
BMJ 2007 Aug 18; 335:(7615):333
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/335/7615/333

Abstract:

Research into medical education is stagnating and urgently needs the resources to become more rigorous and relevant say Mathew Todres, Anne Stephenson, and Roger Jones

The requirement that clinical practice should be based on the best available evidence has been paralleled by calls for medical education to become more evidence based.1 2 3 This has resulted, among other initiatives, in the establishment of the Best Evidence for Medical Education (BEME) Collaboration4 and the Campbell Collaboration, an off-shoot of the Cochrane Collaboration. The BEME initiative includes dissemination of best evidence to support medical education and the encouragement of a culture capable of nurturing more rigorous and better funded research.

Evidence from the United States suggests such nurturing is much needed. In 2004, Carline analysed reports of medical education research in two major North American journals (Academic Medicine and Teaching and Learning in Medicine) and found that only a minority of studies were supported by external research grants.3 She was critical about the quality, rigour, and generalisability of most of these studies. Her concerns were echoed last . . .

Recent medical education research

Research topics, methods, and funding

Randomised controlled trials

Problems for research

Summary points