Awareness of Evidence-Based Medicine among Interns of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Interns are one of the most important groups among medical student, and thus, must learn to use evidence-based medicine (EBM). The present study was performed with the aim of evaluating the knowledge of medical interns of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), Iran, on evidence-based medicine in 2013

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 70 medical interns were selected using convenience sampling method. Data were gathered using a standard questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics and SPSS software.

The information source for clinical decision making in 65.7% of interns were their textbooks among which 62.9% used textbooks because of their accessibility. In addition, 95.7% of interns believed EBM to be useful in improving patient care. However, only 37.1% of them knew the meaning of EBM and 95.7% were not familiar with EBM internet sites.

Integrated planning is necessary in order to include EBM courses in medical curriculum and to teach the use of internet and correct forms of searching.