This paper is from Session 6E: Statistical applications in the workplace

which comes under Topic 6: Statistics education, training and the workplace

Other papers under session 6E ... 6E1: Training and conducting economic evaluation in public health 6E3: Helping make government policy analysts statistically literate

(Friday 16th, 11:00-12:30)

Issues in training physicians in the uses of statistics: what do they think they need to know?

Presenter

• Jennifer Freeman (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)

Co-authors

• Jim Crossley (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
• Fergus Hamilton (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
• Claire Kok Shun (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
• Molebedi Segwagwe (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom)
• Philip Sedgwick (St George’s University of London, United Kingdom)

Abstract

Key to any educational development work is the question of what learners need to know. In terms of teaching statistics to non-statisticians this may be examined from the perspective of both educators and students. It is easy for statistical educators to feel they know what students need to know, but it is also clear that when teaching non-statisticians, these non-specialists, who will be expected to use statistics after graduation, will have a view on what they need to know. We surveyed both current medical students and practicing doctors about what they would like to know and how it should be delivered. This informed a new curriculum covering the topics found to be most important and lead to the development of a new mode of delivery, based around the problembased learning model. The understanding produced provides valuable knowledge for both medical education and other disciplines where understanding statistics is essential.

Other papers under session 6E ... 6E1: Training and conducting economic evaluation in public health 6E3: Helping make government policy analysts statistically literate