Medical Sciences Library
This guide is designed to support health sciences students, medical residents, and faculty by offering guidance on finding and evaluating clinical practice guidelines.
To request assistance with finding a clinical practice guideline, please schedule a consultation with a research and education librarian or submit your question to AskMSL@library.tamu.edu.
When searching for guidelines, clinicians may encounter both guidelines and consensus statements. There are key differences in the methods used to develop these tools.
Informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options.1
Example:
2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Headache
Developed when there is insufficient high-quality evidence. Reflect the collective opinion of experts and provide guidance based on consensus.2
Example:
American Headache Society Consensus Statement on Migraine Treatment
Bridge the gap between research and practice through a thorough review of the latest clinical research
Standardize patient care to ensure high-quality outcomes across all settings
Improve patient outcomes by implementing evidence-based best practices
Optimize resource use by guiding clinicians toward the most effective interventions
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Standards for Developing Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines, Graham R, Mancher M, Miller Wolman D, Greenfield S, Steinberg E, eds. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011. doi:10.17226/13058
Association AMW. Creating Sound Clinical Consensus Statements. Accessed May 1, 2025. https://blog.amwa.org/creating-sound-clinical-consensus-statements