Evaluation of an Evidence-based Medicine Educational Program for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Students

Practicing evidence-based medicine (EBM) is likely to gain importance for clinical pharmacists in the relatively near future in Japan. An educational program including research and the critical appraisal of literature was required for pharmacy students as of 2015. We organized a six-month practical EBM course for pharmacy students at Hyogo University of Health Sciences. To evaluate its effectiveness, students took a 10-question test after completing the course. The mean score of six students was 8.33 +/- 1.79 points. We also conducted a 1-day practical EBM workshop for pharmacists. Changes in knowledge and skills related to EBM were evaluated based on the responses to 10 questions. Knowledge and skills related to several variables improved significantly after the workshop (6.36 points before versus 9.09 points after the workshop; p=0.023). The results suggested that our EBM educational course is effective in improving EBM-related knowledge and skills of pharmacists and pharmacy students.