91828 Evidence Based Practice in Medical Science
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 91400 Human Anatomy and Physiology
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 91175 Evidence-based Medical Science AND 91176 Case Studies in Medical Science AND 91194 Evidence Based Practice in Medical Science
Description
The evidence-based medicine process is central to the advancement of health and the development of solutions to medical problems. In this subject, students develop the capacity to propose recommendations after judicious comparisons of the benefits and harms of different clinical options for health problems. This subject develops skills in asking clinical questions, acquiring the best evidence, appraising the evidence for validity and usefulness to specific patient populations, and applying the best evidence by proposing health recommendations. An understanding of the processes by which scientific discoveries are translated to clinical practice is a vital component for any career in medical science. This subject explores emerging and longstanding healthcare issues and their solutions through critical analyses of published clinical trials. Students synthesise findings from clinical research through interactive workshops and student-led discussions to make informed judgements on medical science problems and solutions. Students learn about clinical trial design, methodologies, ethical considerations, and the factors that influence the validity of trials. Students also develop and practice skills in communication, with particular focus on understanding how to tailor output towards different audiences, and in formats that are relevant to a variety of careers and professional roles of medical scientists.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Explain the context of clinical trials and why they are used. |
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| 2. | Identify different elements of clinical trial design, their associated advantages and limitations, and the importance of ethical considerations throughout. |
| 3. | Evaluate evidence from clinical trials with reference to the design, reported statistics, objectives, and relevance for different patient populations. |
| 4. | Apply the evidence-based medicine process to ask clinical questions, acquire the best evidence, appraise evidence, and translate best evidence into treatments, policy and clinical guidelines for different patient populations. |
| 5. | Provide constructive feedback to peers and reflect on feedback to improve own performance. |
| 6. | Reflect on the needs of a target audience to use different media to communicate medical science research. |
| 7. | Identify and evaluate available medical science evidence and apply this to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health and wellbeing. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of following course intended learning outcomes:
- Explain how diseases arise and disrupt normal physiological function and appraise the technologies used to diagnose, treat, and cure diseases. (1.1)
- Collect, accurately record, interpret, and draw conclusions from data to solve real-world medical problems, and infer how the results of medical research can be translated to improve patient outcomes. (2.1)
- Evaluate ethical, social, and cultural issues in medical science in local and global contexts and work responsibly, safely and with respect to diversity and regulatory frameworks. (3.1)
- Reflect upon, independently evaluate, and critically appraise current evidence-based literature to identify medical problems or unmet medical needs and creatively translate medical research results to improve the clinical care of patients. (4.1)
- Effectively communicate medical science knowledge and research information, and the importance thereof, to a range of audiences using a variety of modes, independently and collaboratively. (5.1)
- Acquire or Develop knowledge of Indigenous Australian contexts to inform professional cultural capability to work effectively with and for, Indigenous Australians within the medical science context. (6.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
This subject is intended to develop the following attributes:
1 - Disciplinary knowledge
1.1 This subject will build upon the concepts and content learned during the core curriculum, including anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, immunology, haematology, pharmacology, and precision medicine. An understanding of these concepts as they apply to specific disease states and treatment regimes will contribute to both assessment tasks (module quizzes and evidence-based recommendation).
2 - Research, inquiry and critical thinking
2.1 You will develop the ability to ask clinical questions, acquire the best evidence, critically appraise randomised controlled trials, and communicate this synthesised information to both expert and non-expert audiences. This will be assessed in both assessment tasks.
2.2 You will learn and practise skills in the interpretation and integration of findings from multiple clinical research studies to communicate a coherent recommendation for solving health problems for specific patient populations. This will be assessed in the evidence-based recommendation.
3 - Professional, ethical, and social responsibility
3.1 Excellence in research skills will be obtained by practising the evidence-based medicine process. This will form a major componenet of the evidence-based recommendation assessment task.
3.2 Teamwork will be fostered by working in groups to analyse and critique clinical trials, and through the design of clinical trials. Group discussions will promote deeper analysis of the clinical research, interpretation of findings and relevance to specific patient populations. These discussions will also develop skills in giving and actioning constructive feedback to improve performance. These skills will be assessed in the evidence-based recommendation.
3.3 You will learn ethical and social responsibility by answering clinical questions by considering both the individual and society more broadly. You will explore ethical frameworks and considerations for the design and execution of clinical trials. This will be assessed by the module quizzes and the evidence-based recommendation.
4 – Reflection, Innovation, Creativity
4.1 In-depth analysis of clinical trials will facilitate critical thinking and advanced scientific reasoning to assess the key features of the research, including the knowledge gap addressed, strengths and weaknesses, key findings, and relevance to a clinical medicine. The module quizzes and evidence-based recommendation will assess these skills.
4.2 Reflection on the key characteristics of effective scientific communication using different mediums will be fostered through critical analysis of peer work and engaging with the feedback provide by peers and instructors. This will be assessed during completion of the evidence-based recommendation.
4.3 The design processes for the evidence-based recommendation will foster creativity in choosing a target audience and will develop critical thinking in assessing the needs of the chosen stakeholder and patient population. Innovation and creativity will be used to design a clinical trial to answer a clinical question and progress a body of clinical research.
5 – Communication
5.1 Excellence in written and visual scientific communication will be developed through the evidence-based recommendation. Skills include being able to clearly define a gap in medical science knowledge, concisely summarise key clinical findings and translate scientific concepts into audience-specific language.
5.2 Advanced oral skills will be assessed through a video presentation of a health recommendation. This will require the communication of medical science information, including a proposed clinical trial, to non-expert audiences.
6 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge and Connection with Country.
6.1 This subject will consider why specific health policies to address disparities are required in the national context of Australian health. It also challenges you to thoughtfully consider what best practice means across cultural contexts and to communicate and engage positively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. These skills will be assessed through the evidence-based recommendation task.
Teaching and learning strategies
The learning outcomes will be achieved through completion of online modules and participation in face-to-face workshops.
Online modules: The online resources will provide the necessary knowledge foundation to allow fruitful and interactive discussions, both online and during face-to-face workshops. As such, completing the online learning material is crucial to developing a full understanding of the subject content and to maximising learning during virtual and face-to-face activities. Specifically, the first four online modules, which are designed to introduce you to evidence-based medicine and clinical trials are each assessed by an online quiz, so it is essential that you finish each module and complete the associated quiz within specified time frames.
Face-to-face workshops: These workshops will be facilitated by internal and external experts. They will be highly interactive and aligned with the tasks involved for the completion of the major project (evidence-based recommendation). Therefore, your participation will be integral to completing the major project and will enable you and your team to complete the required milestones and to receive constructive feedback along the way. In fact, most tasks for the evidence-based recommendation can be completed during the scheduled face-to-face workshops and online discussions.
Content (topics)
The overall aims of this subject are to develop the necessary skills to:
(i) practice evidence-based medicine,
(ii) provide and action constructive feedback, and
(iii) effectively communicate medical research to expert and non-expert audiences.
Initially, you will be introduced to the process of evidence-based medicine. This includes identifying gaps in clinical practices, asking clinical questions, acquiring the best evidence, appraising this evidence, and applying this evidence to health practice and future research in the context of specific patient populations.
You will be introduced to clinical trials with a particular focus on randomised controlled trials. You will learn about trial design, execution, and interpretation. You will also gain an appreciation of the importance of ethic frameworks and considerations in the design and completion of clinical trials.
You will put these skills into practice to analyse, interpret, and discuss clinical trials in terms of validity and statistical and clinical significance. Individual, organisational, and cultural issues surrounding the implementation of evidence-based practice into clinical practice and health policies and guidelines will also be identified and discussed. You will have the opportunity to design a clinical trial based on your execution of the evidence-based medicine process.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Modules 1-4 Quizzes
| Intent: | This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes: 1. Disciplinary knowledge 2. Research, inquiry and critical thinking 3. Professional, ethical and social responsibility 5. Communication 6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge and Connection with Country |
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 5.1 and 6.1 |
| Type: | Quiz/test |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | Each quiz consists of 10 multiple choice questions to be completed in 30-minutes. |
| Criteria: | Marks will be assigned based on the selection of the correct alternative answer for each multiple-choice question. There is one online quiz for each of modules 1 - 4 to assess disciplinary knowledge and critical thinking and reasoning for the design and interpretation of clinical trials, and your understanding of the professional and ethical contexts of clinical trials. You can consult the online learning materials to answer the questions, but there is a time limit, and each assessed module quiz can only be attempted once. To help you prepare for each graded quiz you can choose to complete a practice quiz. |
Assessment task 2: Evidence-based Recommendation
| Intent: | This assessment task contributes to the development of the following graduate attributes:
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| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 This assessment task contributes to the development of course intended learning outcome(s): 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1 |
| Type: | Project |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Weight: | 60% |
| Length: | Variable. Individual component (40%): Critical appraisal of allocated randomised controlled trial as demonstrated by completion of a visual abstract and textual appraisal, which will be communicated via a discussion forum with team members. |
| Criteria: | The marking rubric used for the individual and group components of this task will be available on Canvas. Individual component (40%) You will be assessed on your ability to:
Group component (20%) Marks will be assigned based on:
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