The concept of teaching clinical epidemiology in the medical university

Abstract

The article presents the definition, purpose and objectives of clinical epidemiology and describes the differences between evidence-based medicine and clinical epidemiology. The paper presents different aspects of clinical epidemiology (theoretical, methodological and practical) that should be included both in the educational programs and the final goals of learning discipline for students, interns, ordinators and physicians. Nowadays it is necessary to prepare qualified specialists with relevant professional knowledge, skills and abilities of decision makers to use methods for treatment and prevention according to the evidence-based medicine. Many leading medical educational organisations have introduced clinical epidemiology in the main course — as one of the fundamental discipline. Modern educational programs of the ≪Epidemiology≫ discipline require expansion of the teaching of clinical epidemiology, both in the basic educational programs and in the disciplines of choice.

Keywords

• clinical epidemiology
• evidence-based medicine
• the final goal of education