Future clinicians must understand how to turn evidence into action and be ready to care for patients as soon as they join the workforce. That’s why education leaders must equip students with clinical decision support (CDS) solutions that reflect modern medicine in action.
Equipping future clinicians for evidence-based patient care
Leaders in education are entrusted with developing the clinicians of the future. Learning how to practice evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a critical component of health professional education. Despite that, there is no set method for EBM learning, and a lot depends on the evidence-based resources that educators and students rely on.
Optimal strategies for evidence-based learning include interactive and clinically based activities that are aligned with major trends in healthcare and consider whole-patient care.
In the era of digital healthcare, proven CDS tools are recognized by academic leaders around the world to help achieve that, but only if they meet key criteria.
The unique benefits of CDS for medical education
Healthcare delivery is often a complex journey, involving multiple data points and care teams that add to decisions about diagnosis, treatment, and care plans. By using proven CDS technology, students can enrich their academic experience by:
- Reviewing synthesized evidence with contextual analysis, while still having access to references and citations to sources
- Turning evidence into practice with peer-reviewed content and graded recommendations
- Developing optimal search strategies based on content formulated by practitioners and educators
- Providing learning touchpoints from first year to residency and beyond
And when they use CDS solutions that provide advanced embedding options and technology features, students will be better prepared for modern medicine. CDS with the right technology will offer options to embed into electronic health record (EHR) systems or digital flashcards like Anki, complete mobile applications, and technology like voice search, search in your own language, and interactive tools like calculators or clinical pathways.
Instructors also benefit from proven CDS. For example, they can develop quality presentations faster with trusted clinical content that includes relevant graphics, decision trees and algorithms, and original illustrations. More broadly, leading universities provide access to proven CDS that covers a wide range of medical specialties to facilitate comprehensive learning.
Another must-have: Expert clinical drug content and tools
Enhancing student learning means going above and beyond standard information resources, and that’s especially important for referential drug content and tools. Education leaders must first make sure that the CDS they choose includes drug information and insights.
Furthermore, as educators strive to provide comprehensive learning for patient-centered care, selecting a drug referential solution for instruction should include critical content and tools covering:
- Adverse reactions
- Drug interactions
- Renal dosing
- IV compatibility
- Neonatal dosing
- And many more
This is especially important for pharmacy and nursing education.
More than a summary of the evidence, students need access to evidence-based, peer-reviewed content that is actionable so they can learn how to answer clinical questions and care for patients.
