ISSUES IN TRAINING PHYSICIANS IN THE USES OF STATISTICS: WHAT DO THEY THINK THEY NEED TO KNOW?

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.