Assessing evidence-based dermatology and evidence-based internal medicine curricula in US residency training programs - A national survey

Objectives: To examine attitudes toward evidence-based medicine and evidence-based dermatology and to assess evidence-based training in US internal medicine and dermatology residency programs. Methods: A 1-page self-administered questionnaire was mailed to residency training directors and chief residents at 104 dermatology and 103 internal medicine residency programs from the same or affiliated medical centers. Results: Questionnaires were returned by respondents from 70 (68%) of 103 internal medicine programs and 86 (83%) of 104 dermatology programs, Most respondents (91% internal medicine and 70% dermatology) strongly agreed or agreed that evidence-based internal medicine/dermatology is valuable and should be included in residency training (93% internal medicine and 70% dermatology). Respondents from internal medicine programs agreed more strongly with both statements than respondents from dermatology programs (P = .001). Dedicated evidence-based curricula were in place at significantly more internal medicine programs (50 [71%] of 70) than dermatology programs (20 [23%] of 86) (P < .001). Curricula at internal medicine programs offered significantly more evidence-based medicine training sessions (24 vs 6; P < .001) and biostatisties sessions (10 vs 2.3; P = .03), and internal medicine programs more frequently evaluated the curricula using clinical question applications (56% vs 30%; P = .04). Conclusion: Despite favorable attitudes toward evidence-based dermatology, compared with internal medicine programs, dedicated evidence-based training is underdeveloped in dermatology programs.