The long road to learn the meaning of p-value in medical schools: challenges for a research methodology training in medical schools

Abstract

The movement towards evidence-based medicine has been highly successful (Fregni, 2019). Clinicians understand the need to practice based on solid and unbiased evidence. However, the pathway towards full use of evidence-based medicine (EBM) has not been completed. There is still a long way to go. One of the main obstacles to the better use of EBM in clinical practice is the lack of research methodology training. It is clear that there is not enough time in the curriculum of medical students to cover the complex field of research methodology (Fregni, 2019). Also, the current methods of teaching have been far from optimal, and therefore, students usually tend to dislike statistics and epidemiology early on, which provides them fewer tools to use EBM in their clinical profession effectively. In this editorial, we convened a group of clinicians and educators (from the Teaching, Learning and Innovation Initiative) from several countries to briefly discuss some of the main challenges we see in medical students' current education that applies to EBM teaching.