The cornerstone of evidence based medicine (EBM) training is student research literacy. In this foundational step, students learn to become consumers of research with a broad understanding of how to access, evaluate, and communicate about research literature with fellow practitioners and patients. As students’ progress to become evidence informed clinicians, they learn to weigh and apply research in their clinical practice. Recognizing the value of research literacy in medical curriculum, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded several institutions to develop a curriculum that promoted research literacy and EBM.
Competency based educational strategies guides EBM curriculum development. This webinar will review the competencies and teaching strategies developed and implemented to enhance research literacy at the National College of Natural Medicine, as well as other institutions funded by the NIH to develop research curriculum. These strategies involved development of learning objectives to guide both curriculum development and assessment, examples of faculty driven learning activities, and longitudinal curricula initiatives to encourage skill reinforcement. Classroom and clinical teaching strategies, instructional methods, and pedagogical approaches will be shared. Institutional challenges encountered and lessons learned in implementing the programs will also be discussed.
Heather Zwickey, PhD, Dean of Research at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM), director of Helfgott Research Institute, and Professor of Immunology, trained at the world renowned National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. She received a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Zwickey went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University, where she taught in the first year medical curriculum for 3 years.