Evidence-based medicine: placing scientific evidence and patient values at the centre of healthcare

Suitable for 14-19-year olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom, STEM clubs and at home.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5/Grade 9-10 and Grade 11-12 Biology.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks (UK):
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Professor Gordon Guyatt from McMaster University in Canada. He is a pioneer of evidence-based medicine, a practice which combines trustworthy scientific evidence with patient values to deliver the best possible healthcare.

• This resource also contains an interview with Gordon, and offers an insight into careers in evidence-based medicine. If your students have questions for Gordon, they can send them through the Futurum Careers website.

• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Gordon’s research and challenges them to create a decision-aid to help patients make choices about their healthcare.

This resource was first published by Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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