Doctors Guide To Critical Appraisal

Offers a range of sample comparative journal extracts enabling Foundation Year doctors and MRCGP and MRCPsych candidates to practise their critical appraisal skills. This title includes extracts that cover the whole spectrum of critical appraisal, together with exercises for the reader to work through independently to improve their technique.

The Doctor's Guide to Critical Appraisal, 3e expands on the best-selling second edition with more facts and tips packed into sixty new and updated chapters whilst keeping the unique structure and easy-to-read format. Every chapter focuses on a single topic, assuming no prior knowledge.

Holistic approach to understanding medical statistics This hands-on guide is much more than a basic medical statistics introduction. It equips you with the statistical tools required for evidence-based clinical research. Each chapter provides a clear step-by-step guide to each statistical test with practical instructions on how to generate and interpret the numbers, and present the results as scientific tables or graphs. Showing you how to: analyse data with the help of data set examples (Click here to download datasets) select the correct statistics and report results for publication or presentation understand and critically appraise results reported in the literature Each statistical test is linked to the research question and the type of study design used. There are also checklists for critically appraising the literature and web links to useful internet sites. Clear and concise explanations, combined with plenty of examples and tabulated explanations are based on the authors’ popular medical statistics courses. Critical appraisal guidelines at the end of each chapter help the reader evaluate the statistical data in their particular contexts.

Having an understanding of critical appraisal and evidence-based medicine is a prerequisite to being an effective clinician. However, critical appraisal is often taught by people not involved in day-to-day clinical care, meaning the clinical relevance is not always brought to the fore. This book takes a different approach. It is written by clinicians, for clinicians. It takes the reader step by step through the process so that any journal article can be easily read, evidence evaluated and the results - and their reliability - truly understood. By integrating this with knowledge of local skills and resources and patient preference, the reader will be able to apply the best possible care that his or her patients deserve. This accessible book is suitable for undergraduates and postgraduates of all medical specialties, nursing, paramedics, pharmacists and all allied health professions. It is the ideal reference for anyone needing help writing a clinical topic review, reviewing a paper in a journal club or preparing for a critical appraisal exam. But most importantly, it is essential for those who wish to practice medicine in the best possible way for their patients, using the best evidence, tailored to the individual.

Advances in medical, biomedical and health services research have reduced the level of uncertainty in clinical practice. Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) complement this progress by establishing standards of care backed by strong scientific evidence. CPGs are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust examines the current state of clinical practice guidelines and how they can be improved to enhance healthcare quality and patient outcomes. Clinical practice guidelines now are ubiquitous in our healthcare system. The Guidelines International Network (GIN) database currently lists more than 3,700 guidelines from 39 countries. Developing guidelines presents a number of challenges including lack of transparent methodological practices, difficulty reconciling conflicting guidelines, and conflicts of interest. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust explores questions surrounding the quality of CPG development processes and the establishment of standards. It proposes eight standards for developing trustworthy clinical practice guidelines emphasizing transparency; management of conflict of interest ; systematic review-guideline development intersection; establishing evidence foundations for and rating strength of guideline recommendations; articulation of recommendations; external review; and updating. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust shows how clinical practice guidelines can enhance clinician and patient decision-making by translating complex scientific research findings into recommendations for clinical practice that are relevant to the individual patient encounter, instead of implementing a one size fits all approach to patient care. This book contains information directly related to the work of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as well as various Congressional staff and policymakers. It is a vital resource for medical specialty societies, disease advocacy groups, health professionals, private and international organizations that develop or use clinical practice guidelines, consumers, clinicians, and payers.

A concise, easy-to-read source of essential tips and skills for writing research papers and career management In order to be truly successful in the biomedical professions, one must have excellent communication skills and networking abilities. Of equal importance is the possession of sufficient clinical knowledge, as well as a proficiency in conducting research and writing scientific papers. This unique and important book provides medical students and residents with the most commonly encountered topics in the academic and professional lifestyle, teaching them all of the practical nuances that are often only learned through experience. Written by a team of experienced professionals to help guide younger researchers, A Guide to the Scientific Career: Virtues, Communication, Research and Academic Writing features ten sections composed of seventy-four chapters that cover: qualities of research scientists; career satisfaction and its determinants; publishing in academic medicine; assessing a researcher’s scientific productivity and scholarly impact; manners in academics; communication skills; essence of collaborative research; dealing with manipulative people; writing and scientific misconduct: ethical and legal aspects; plagiarism; research regulations, proposals, grants, and practice; publication and resources; tips on writing every type of paper and report; and much more. An easy-to-read source of essential tips and skills for scientific research Emphasizes good communication skills, sound clinical judgment, knowledge of research methodology, and good writing skills Offers comprehensive guidelines that address every aspect of the medical student/resident academic and professional lifestyle Combines elements of a career-management guide and publication guide in one comprehensive reference source Includes selected personal stories by great researchers, fascinating writers, inspiring mentors, and extraordinary clinicians/scientists A Guide to the Scientific Career: Virtues, Communication, Research and Academic Writing is an excellent interdisciplinary text that will appeal to all medical students and scientists who seek to improve their writing and communication skills in order to make the most of their chosen career.

This second edition of the popular guide to critical appraisal is a fully updated revision of the previous edition. Written in the same easily accessible style, The Pocket Guide to Critical Appraisal now provides annotated checklists of the most common research designs. Consistent with recent developments in evidence-based medicine, these checklists distinguish between the risk of bias in the conduct of published studies and the value of the findings for healthcare delivery. Five new chapters have been added and the original chapters have been rewritten, making the new edition a complete and concise guide for the evaluation of research quality. In addition to the checklists, the book also: describes how to quickly identify the information needed for the critical appraisal provides simple explanations of statistical significance and the interpretation of confidence intervals reviews the major sources of bias and their impact on research findings explains how to summarise the risk of bias outlines the concept of certainty of evidence and how to calculate it identifies the challenges in assessing the value of research findings The Pocket Guide to Critical Appraisal is an essential guide for all health professions and students who read research papers and use their findings.

This handy pocket companion provides all the necessary guidance on how to understand medical research publications, read them critically and decide whether the content of those papers is clinically useful in the care of patients. Illustrated throughout with medically relevant examples, the accessible text encompasses all relevant aspects of study design and clinical audit to give a clear framework to support critical reading for the novice and more experienced reader.