Where do I start?

To follow the principles of EBVM, veterinarians need to be aware of the evidence available, read it, decide on its quality and relevance, and then, if appropriate, incorporate it into clinical decision-making.

EBM has been simply explained as five main steps (Heneghan and Badenhoch 2006), which can also apply to EBVM, and have been used to form the structure of this tutorial:

Ask

Defining a clinical question that is of interest and answerable

Acquire

Finding the best available evidence to answer the question

Appraise

Assessing the quality of the relevant evidence found

Apply

Implementing the evidence into clinical practice where appropriate

Assess

Evaluating the impact of the implementation and changes in clinical practice

  1. Ask – defining a clinical question that is of interest and (hopefully!) answerable
  2. Acquire – finding the best available evidence to answer the question
  3. Appraise – assessing the quality of the relevant evidence found
  4. Apply – implementing the evidence into clinical practice where appropriate
  5. Assess – evaluating the impact of the implementation and changes in clinical practice

Progressing through this tutorial will give you further knowledge about each of these steps in greater detail, as we cover how to ASK and frame a clinical question correctly, how to ACQUIRE the literature that is out there, how to APPRAISE this literature and APPLY what you learn to your practice, as well as how to ASSESS the outcomes of your application and clinical changes.