A fifth-year student at the Peninsula Medical School has successfully applied for funding from the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in order to carry out a study regarding medical students and the information resources they use.
Student Sarah Edwards, in collaboration with members of staff from the Peninsula Medical School, scored an impressive 93 per cent for her application, seeing off stiff competition from applicants from around the UK.
Medical students and doctors require an understanding of evidence-based medicine and how to implement it. However, as the available evidence base grows bigger and as clinical practice becomes busier, clinicians and medical students will face significant challenges in accessing, understanding and incorporating evidence into their practice.
The HEA-funded mini-project will explore how decisions are made about what information comes from where. By understanding this process, protocols could be developed that will help medical students and clinicians access appropriate information effectively and efficiently - with obvious benefits to clinical time management and patient care.
The study will commence in January 2011.
Dr. Karen Mattick, senior lecturer at the Peninsula Medical School and part of the faculty team who worked with Sarah Edwards on her application, said: "This is a remarkable achievement for a medical student and we are immensely impressed by Sarah's work on this. The study is more than just an academic exercise - there are real potential benefits for medical students, clinicians and their patients from the study's outcomes."
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