Evidence-Based Medicine Training in United States-Based Physiatry Residency Programs.
Thiru M Annaswamy, John-Ross Rizzo, Amy Schnappinger and 19 others
PMID 33852491WHAT IT FOUND
Most responding US physiatry programs teach evidence-based medicine basics, but fewer teach how to apply and evaluate it.
Few have dedicated courses or assessments, and no program reported using a structured, systematic approach.
Key findings
01Most responding programs provide formal evidence-based medicine education, but only about a quarter have a dedicated course.
02Most programs teach the first three steps of evidence-based medicine, but fewer than 70% teach the application and evaluation steps.
03No responding program reported using a structured and systematic approach to deliver this training.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The response rate was low (39% for survey 1 and 31% for survey 2), creating a risk of selection bias where programs already doing well in evidence-based medicine were more likely to respond. The surveys were not pilot tested before administration. The study relies on self-reported data from program directors, which may not accurately reflect the resident experience. The findings apply only to physiatry residency programs in the United States and may not generalize to other specialties or countries.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAP) Research Committee. No specific financial conflicts of interest or commercial funding were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the high percentage of programs reporting EBM education means residents are fully competent in applying it. Most programs stop short of teaching the critical 'apply' and 'evaluate' steps, and no program used a structured system, so the quality and depth of training likely vary widely.