As Books
Dr. Guyatt and Dr. Rennie edited the articles and compiled them to form a book titled Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. The Users' Guides now come in two book versions. The Essentials introduces the concepts of evidence-based medicine (EBM), with which every practicing clinician should be familiar. The Manual provides a comprehensive, in-depth exploration of the EBM concepts for clinicians seeking a deeper understanding of EBM, or for those who wish to role-model and teach EBM.
The books teach a systematic approach to reading and applying the medical literature to individual patient care. It focuses on three questions: 1. Whether new information is likely to be true, 2. What the information says about patient care, and 3. How the information can be used. To demonstrate the clinical relevance of the suggested approach, each section begins with a practical clinical scenario. The chapter is then structured around identifying the best available evidence and applying the three key questions to the evidence, in the context of the clinical scenario. Each chapter concludes with a resolution of the scenario.
Most of the book chapters are based on specific types of clinical questions, including questions of therapy, harm, diagnosis, and prognosis. Other chapters deal with general skills that are important for all clinical questions, such as “Finding the Evidence”, “Summarizing the Evidence”, and “Moving From Evidence to Action”. This highly structured format allows readers to quickly locate the information they need to incorporate EBM into their practice. While readers will enjoy reading the book from cover to cover, they need not do so – the Users’ Guides functions equally well as a reference book to be called upon as needed.
The Users’ Guides is also available in Web-based formats for clinicians who prefer electronic material. The website includes a large number of additional aids for the practice of EBM.
Readers of the British Medical Journal have ranked evidence-based medicine as one of the ten most important medical breakthroughs of the twentieth century. Clinicians who wish to understand the medical literature and use it effectively in solving patient problems must have a firm understanding of the principles of EBM. The Essentials Users’ Guides provides the optimal introduction to familiarize clinicians with the tools needed to practice EBM.
Read more about this topic: Users' Guides To The Medical Literature
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