Medical Evidence Boot Camp, Fall 2011

One of the most difficult challenges facing journalists is the uncertainty of evidence in science, medicine, energy and environmental studies. Studies are hard to decipher, and sometimes appear to reach contradictory conclusions. But the public's interest in health and science news, and the need for reliable information, is growing. To help journalists make sense of all this, we offer an intensive course, on how to evaluate scientific and medical evidence. We'll explore how new drugs are tested, and look at how the FDA, the NIH and other agencies evaluate treatments, old and new. We'll look at the rise of "evidence-based medicine" and why expensive care may not be good care. (Don't be surprised to learn that a lot of what doctors do has little or no evidence to prove that it works.)