In Defense of Art Appreciation: What Your Doctor Does Not Need to Know About Biostatistics

• Activity Number: 516
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences
• Author(s): Ann M. Brearley*+
• Companies: University of Minnesota
• Keywords: statistical literacy

Abstract

The University of Minnesota's introductory biostatistics two-semester course sequence for medical and public health graduate students covers material from study design through hypothesis testing and multiple regression to survival analysis, and focuses on using statistical software to analyze data. Faculty and student feedback suggests that this approach is not optimal for students who will be clinicians or public health professionals, not researchers or data analysts. More specifically, this feedback suggests that such students need to be able to read and correctly interpret statistical results in the primary literature in their field, but do not need to be able to use statistical software or analyze data. In response, the authors are developing a one-semester biostatistical literacy course. To inform decisions about what to include in the course, evidence about what clinicians and public health professionals really need to know about biostatistics was sought from a variety of sources, ranging from internal student and faculty surveys to external professional accreditation organizations. This talk will review the evidence and the thought processes used in designing the course.