DIAG210-0112: Evidence Based Medicine

INSTRUCTOR(S):
Peggy L. Schmidt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVPM
Robert Rosenthal, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM, Oncology) DACVR (Radiation Oncology)
Katherine Anderson, MA (Library and Information Studies)
Joe Hauptman, DVM, MS, DACVS
Annette O'Connor BVSc, MVSc, DVSc, FANZCVSc
Peter Cockcroft, Vet. M.B, M.Sc, DipDat., DVM&S, Dip. ECBHM
Mark Rishniw, BVSc, DACVIM (Internal Medicine & Cardiology)
Elizabeth Lund, DVM, MPH, PhD
Sandi Lefebvre, DVM, PhD

COURSE OPEN: January 3-February 17, 2012
REAL TIME SESSIONS (RTS): Tuesdays, January 10,17,24,31 and February 7; 9:30-11:30 pm ET (USA)
Course RTS Times in Your Area: World Clock Converter

Practice Sessions: In order to prepare you for a successful experience in your CE course, we request you attend a practice session prior to the first Real Time Session. Times and dates will be listed in your course confirmation email. Expect to spend up to 1 hour at one of the 2-4 practice sessions held prior to the first Real Time Session.

*The instructors for this course will be using audio which will require you to have a headset of speakers to listen. If you have any concerns regarding your computer's audio capabilities, please be sure to attend one of the Practice Sessions.

Level and Prerequisites: This course will be open to veterinarians actively interested in Evidence Based Medicine.

VIN CE Course: Open to veterinarians. This course has been submitted for RACE approval for veterinarians.

Course Description:
The course "Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine" is designed to introduce participants to the concepts behind and evidence-based practice and the tools to bring those concepts into daily use. The principles of evidence-based medicine are not difficult to understand. To integrate them into daily thinking is relatively easy and certainly very important. Applying the individual tools including search techniques, critical appraisal of the literature, and outcome evaluation can be more difficult, but these and other valuable aspects of evidence-based medicine will be addressed to offer the participants ways to integrate evidence-based principles into practice.

This course consists of four (4) 2-hour (120 minute) Real Time Sessions, one (1) sixty (60) minute Real Time Session, supplemental library materials, interactive message board discussions, and a mandatory end-of-course test. Successful completion (scoring 80% or better) on the end-of-course test is required to earn a certificate of completion for the course.

*A portion of the lectures will be presented using audio. Please be prepared to listen.

Upon completion of this course, the participant should be able to

• describe the history and philosophical foundation of EBVM and its relation to other types of practice.
• differentiate various types of clinical questions and evidence.
• write a well-formulated clinical question.
• develope and enact a solid search strategy to answer a well-formulated clinical question.
• recognize different types of clinical trials and their utilities.
• recognize the utility and shortcomings of common statistical tests.
• appraise pertinent articles critically, especially articles on diagnosis and therapy.
• recognize and apply principles of clinical reasoning and decision analysis.
• evaluate outcomes through reflection of the entire process.

Course Materials: Course materials will be available in the course library prior to each Real Time Session.
Required textbooks: There is no required textbook for this course.
Recommended textbooks: A list of recommended textbooks will be supplied in the course library.

About the Instructors:
The instructors for this course reflect a topic-specific expertise and were assembled for their ability to teach the specific topics.

Course Outline:
Week 1 (Real Time Session January 10): General Introduction, History, Need/Philosophy, Relation to Other Types of Practice, and Formulating the Clinical Question
Instructor(s): Peggy L. Schmidt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVPM and Robert Rosenthal, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM, Oncology) DACVR (Radiation Oncology)
Content:

• Why EBM?
• What is EBM?
• The five-point EBM process
• Barriers to EBM
• Using EBM in the clinic

Week 2 (Real Time Session January 17): Searching for Evidence and Clinical Trial Design
Instructor(s): Katherine Anderson, MA (Library and Information Studies) and Joe Hauptman, DVM, MS, DACVS
Content:

• Choosing the right resource
• Translating clinical questions into search strategies
• Evaluating and refining search results
• PubMed's Clinical Queries and Veterinary Subset
• Tips on accessing full-text articles

Week 3 (Real Time Session January 24): Statistics
Instructor(s): Annette O'Connor BVSc, MVSc, DVSc, FANZCVSc
Content:

• An approach to thinking about statistics in EBM
• Random error and the role of statistics
• Point estimates, confidence intervals and p values
• Simple tests used in studies - introductory
• More advances tests - introductory

Week 4 (Real Time Session January 31): Decision Analysis and Clinical Reasoning
Instructor(s): Peter Cockcroft, Vet. M.B, M.Sc, DipDat., DVM&S, Dip. ECBHM
Content:

• Making a diagnosis
• Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
• Pattern recognition
• Clinical reasoning strategies
• Logic, sets, Venn diagrams and Boolean algebra
• Diagnostic decision support systems
• Decision trees
• Understanding Utlities

Week 5 (Real Time Session February 7): Appraisal of Therapeutic and Diagnostic Studies, Outcome Evaluation
Instructor(s): Mark Rishniw, BVSc, DACVIM (Internal Medicine & Cardiology), Elizabeth Lund, DVM, MPH, PhD, and Sandi Lefebvre, DVM, PhD
Content:

• Tricks for avoiding confirmation bias when evaluating data
• Sensitivity, specificity, prior probability, predictive values, likelihood ratios
• Method comparison studies of continuous and categorical variables

CE CREDITS: 9

Tuition: Member $180 ($162 early bird special if enrolled by December 20, 2011).
Non-Member $279 ($251 early bird special if enrolled by December 20, 2011).

*To ensure participants are ready and prepared for classes, enrollment will close when the maximum number of participants is reached or at 5pm ET the day of the first Real Time Session unless otherwise noted. If the first Real Time Session is on a weekend, course enrollment will close on the Friday before the first Real Time Session.

*For more information on how online CE works, see the Participant Resource Center.

TO ENROLL:

1. Enrollment qualifications: VIN CE courses are open to VIN member and non-member veterinarians. Veterinarians enrolling in a VSPN CE course must be a VIN member. Veterinary support staff must be a VSPN member to enroll in a VSPN CE or a VIN CE course open to VSPN member enrollment.
2. Each enrollee must be able to receive emails from @vspn.org and @vin.com addresses. Email is our major form of communication with participants; personal emails are highly recommended rather than clinic/hospital email addresses.
3. Each person is individually responsible for his/her own registration. To ensure that all information received is secure and correct, please do not enroll for a course on behalf of another individual.
4. For further assistance call 1-800-700-INFO (4636) or email (VIN CE) CEonVIN@vin.com or (VSPN CE) VSPNCE@vspn.org. Please include the course title, your full name, and contact information in your correspondence.

*Note: "This course is submitted for approval for 9 continuing education credits in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE approval; however participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education." Call VSPN/VIN CE at 1-800-700-4636 for further information. (Attendees are encouraged to check with their licensing jurisdiction(s) for information regarding recognition by their board).

Course withdrawal and refund policy: A complete refund of the paid course price will be issued when your withdrawal request is received prior to the listed start date of the course. If you wish to withdraw after the start date please contact the VIN/VSPN office 1-800-700-INFO (4636) to discuss eligibility for a pro-rated refund.
* Note: To ensure rapid handling of your request for withdrawal, we recommend that you call the VIN/VSPN office at 1-800-700-INFO (4636).

* For more information on VIN's Upcoming CE Courses check the Course Catalog at https://www.vin.com/CE/Catalog.htm

Katherine James, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
VIN Education Coordinator

VIN CE Services: CEonVIN@vin.com
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881 or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: 01452226154
Andrea Pomposo (Andrea@vin.com); ext 126
Debbie Friedler (Debbie@vin.com); ext 756
Heather Schoffstall (Heather@vin.com); ext 116
Jennifer Boyle (JenniferB@vin.com); ext 169

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