Where to look for reliable medical knowledge?

Activities

June 16, 2025

Where to look for reliable medical knowledge?

Pre-requisites

Basic understanding of evidence-based medicine (EBM) concepts, including:
Hierarchy of evidence (e.g., systematic reviews > RCTs > case reports). Difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources
Introductory skills in literature search. Familiarity with using PubMed (basic keyword and MeSH searches). Navigating institutional access to databases (e.g., via university library portal). Understanding what systematic reviews and clinical guidelines are
Institutional access to online medical resources to PubMed or similar databases

Explanation of activity

Objective: Practice navigating trusted medical resources.

Give students the following clinical scenario:

“You are treating a 58-year-old man with new-onset atrial fibrillation. You want to know whether to use a NOAC or warfarin as first-line therapy.”

Students must answer the following questions using specific types of sources:

Tertiary source: Find a recommendation in UpToDate or DynaMed.
- What do they recommend?
Secondary source: Search PubMed or Cochrane Library.
- Can you find a systematic review on this topic?
Primary source: Locate a randomized controlled trial on this question.
- What is the key finding?
Guideline: Find a recent clinical guideline (e.g., ESC, ACC, NICE).
- What does it recommend?

Deliverable: Each group fills in a simple template with:

Source used
Summary of recommendation or finding
Year of publication

Teacher materials

Relevant reading to understand the materials:

Databases tutorials

PUBMED – https://learn.nlm.nih.gov/documentation/training-packets/T0042010P/

SCOPUS – https://libguides.library.arizona.edu/scopus-module1

UPTODATE – https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/uptodate/resources/user-academy

GOOGLE SCHOLAR – https://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html

Dawes, M., Summerskill, W., Glasziou, P. et al. Sicily statement on evidence-based practice. BMC Med Educ 5, 1 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-5-1

Further reading to further develop the activity/understanding of the topic:

Rosenfeld, R.M., Shiffman, R.N. and Robertson, P. (2013), Clinical Practice Guideline Development Manual, Third Edition. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 148: S1-S55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0194599812467004

Resource	Best Use Case	Access Required	Strengths	Limitations
PubMed	Finding primary studies & reviews	❌ Free	MeSH terms, filters, high-quality	May require full-text access
Scopus	Citation tracking, academic searching	✅ Paid	Citation analysis, breadth	No full text, complex interface
Google Scholar	Fast, broad search across disciplines	❌ Free	Easy to use, wide coverage	Less filtering, includes lower-tier sources
UpToDate	Clinical decision-making at bedside	✅ Paid	Quick summaries, guidelines, mobile	Not detailed on methodology or raw data

Student Materials

Cases of inappropriate reporting in media – check for true EBM answers Using https://web.archive.org/

Check links (in polish):

Reliable sources of medical knowledge

Medical literature databases (Pubmed, Scopus, Google Scholar, etc.)

UpToDate

Assessing and Evaluation

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

Differentiate between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of medical knowledge.
Identify reliable databases and resources for evidence-based information.
Critically assess the credibility of online medical content.
Understand the role of clinical guidelines and systematic reviews in decision-making.

Criterion	Excellent (5)	Good (4)	Adequate (3)	Needs Improvement (1–2)
Correct use of source types	All sources correctly classified and used appropriately	Minor errors	Some confusion	Mostly incorrect
Citation & Navigation Skills	Correct citations, used filters, advanced search	Minor citation issues	Incomplete or generic search	Missing or unreliable sources
Critical Thinking	Clear rationale for source choice; compared alternatives	Some rationale	Limited explanation	Lacks justification
Team Collaboration (if group work)	Clear roles, shared effort	Uneven participation	One person dominated	Minimal teamwork

Post-Exercise Quiz

Which source provides filtered, expert-summarized clinical recommendations?

a) UpToDate ✔️

b) PubMed

c) Google Scholar

d) Wikipedia

Which of the following is considered a secondary source?

a) Systematic Review ✔️

b) Case Report

c) Editorial

d) Guideline

You find a 2003 article cited in UpToDate. What should you do?

a) Use it blindly

b) Ignore it

c) Check for more recent evidence ✔️

d) Email the author

Where to look for reliable medical knowledge?