INTRODUCTIONTeaching evidence-based medicine (EBM) to practitioners and residents will improve their performance. There is insufficient evidence regarding the teaching of EBM in undergraduate medical education. We aimed to determine whether an EBM workshop would improve undergraduate medical student's ability to form clinical questions and search databases, as well as their attitudes towards EBM.

MATERIAL AND METHODSThis was a quasi-experimental study on fifth- and sixth-year medical students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. In a 4- day workshop, students learned and practised how to form clinical questions, perform literature searches and carry out critical appraisals. We assessed the student's ability to form a clinical question and their performance in searching and identifying the best clinical literature to answer the question, before and after the workshop. Students' attitudes were assessed using the Likert scale 15-item questionnaire on the last day of the workshop. Wilcoxon signed ranks test was performed to compare pre- and post-tests.

RESULTSThe workshop increased students' scores in developing clinical questions (P = 0.004, mean rank = 14) and search skills (P <0.001, mean rank = 12.50). It also improved students' attitudes towards EBM [mean = 3.76, (standared deviation = 0.7)]. The course allowed students (79.2%) to appreciate the need for EBM education for medical students. The students also commented that the course showed them the importance of EBM knowledge in effective clinical performance.

CONCLUSIONSEBM workshop for undergraduate medical students increased their ability to form clinical questions and carry out appropriate literature searches. It also improved their attitudes towards learning and applying EBM.

Adult ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; education ; Female ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Problem-Based Learning ; Young Adult

Objectives: Symptomatic treatment is an essential component in the overall treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, knowledge in this regard is confusing and scattered. Physicians also have challenges in choosing symptomatic treatment based on the patient’s condition. To share, update, and reuse this knowledge, the aim of this study was to provide an ontology for MS symptomatic treatment. Methods: The Symptomatic Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis Ontology (STMSO) was developed according to Ontology Development 101 and a guideline for developing good ontologies in the biomedical domain. We obtained knowledge and rules through a systematic review and entered this knowledge in the form of classes and subclasses in the ontology. We then mapped the ontology using the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) and Ontology for General Medical Sciences (OGMS) as reference ontologies. The ontology was built using Protégé Editor in the Web Ontology Language format. Finally, an evaluation was done by experts using criterion-based approaches in terms of accuracy, clarity, consistency, and completeness. Results: The knowledge extraction phase identified 110 articles related to the ontology in the form of 626 classes, 40 object properties, and 139 rules. Five general classes included “patient,” “symptoms,” “pharmacological treatment,” “treatment plan,” and “measurement index.” The evaluation in terms of standards for biomedical ontology showed that STMSO was accurate, clear, consistent, and complete. Conclusions STMSO is the first comprehensive semantic representation of the symptomatic treatment of MS and provides a major step toward the development of intelligent clinical decision support systems for symptomatic MS treatment.