Abstract:
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As statistical approaches become more specialized, the analysis in most medical papers requires careful consideration. Since some medical researchers overlook the statistical complexities in papers, a journal club allows researchers to review statistical ideas as well as learn concepts by interpreting published results. At Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (Catalyst) and Massachusetts General Hospital, we use journal clubs as part of primarily on-line courses for medical researchers and as statistical outreach to an individual hospital department. For the Certificate in Applied Biostatistics, monthly journal clubs discuss a recent article from the New England Journal of Medicine, using a case study to guide the discussion. For the Program in Clinical and Translational Science, students select papers for discussion, and a case study is developed to explore statistical concepts. Finally, we attend journal clubs for the pediatric intensive care unit to discuss statistical issues from important papers in this field. Given the flexibility of journal club to reach a variety of audiences, we have found it to be an excellent way to educate medical researchers.
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