Level: Beginning
Prerequisite: None
Cost: $210 (nonmember, $260)
Attendance Maximum: 25

Instructor(s): Connie Schardt, AHIP, education coordinator, Medical Center Library, Duke University, Durham, NC

Offered: Saturday, May 20, 8:00 a.m.–Noon

This course is designed to introduce learners to critical appraisal skills through understanding basic study designs and validity issues related to reducing bias in clinical studies. The course will focus on the basic designs in medicine (case-control, cohort, randomized controlled clinical trial, systematic review, and meta analysis). Learners will also discuss the criteria for determining internal validity of therapy studies and systematic reviews. After completing this course, learners will be better able to identify good studies and support evidence-based medicine in their own institutions. Teaching methods will include discussion, group exercises, and practice in appraising articles.