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Ask

1. Introduction

In this section

1. Introduction

A litter of piglets

The first step in practising EBVM is to ask the 'right' question(s). Without the right question, we cannot search and Acquire the correct evidence for critical appraisal, nor can we establish a context within which we can Appraise its relevance and quality. Only then can we Apply our new knowledge in a clinical context, in order to Assess its impact on our practice.

By the end of this section you will be able to:

  • describe why a well-formed question is fundamental to the EBVM process and avoid the common pitfalls in asking questions
  • identify clinical questions in practice
  • use the (S)PICO mnemonic to construct a searchable clinical question.