The Role of Education in Biostatistical Consulting Deutsch R, Hurwitz S, Janosky J, Oster R

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The Role of Education in Biostatistical
ConsultingDeutsch R, Hurwitz S, Janosky J,
Oster R

• Statistics in Medicine
• in Press / epub April 2006
• Presentation for the Association of GCRC
  Statisticians
• Annual Meeting, Seattle, August 6, 2006
• by Shelley Hurwitz

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A Multi-GCRC Collaboration

• Reena Deutsch
• University of California, San Diego, School of
  Medicine
• Shelley Hurwitz
• Brigham Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical
  School
• Janine Janosky
• University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Robert Oster
• University of Alabama School of Medicine,
  Birmingham

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History

• 2003 Reena submitted manuscript to Statistics
  in Medicine. Reviewer requested data from other
  sites.
• 2003 Reena queried AGS for collaborators.
• 2003-05 Collaborators collected data and got
  IRB approvals or waivers to use the data.
• 2005 We assisted Reena in expanding
  manuscript.
• 2006 Resubmitted.
• 2006 Accepted.

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• What was done?
• We recorded characteristics of our
  consultations, focusing on the presence of
  teaching efforts, working with a uniform
  definition in the article.
• Where?
• Four academic research institutions
• UCSD
• BWH
• Pitt
• UAB
• When?
• Data from 1999 to 2005, overlapping time periods
  of varying durations.
• How many?
• 237 consultations total.

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Adapted from Finch H, 1999
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Client Expectations (top part of oval)

• Knowledge leading to independence
• Acquire information about statistical analysis
  for independent future use.
• (2) Critical knowledge
• Understand why a procedure is used and what
  problems might be associated with it.
• (3) Answers to specific questions
• Only the answer to a specific statistical
  problem and not more.
• (4) Affective and logistical concerns
• Fast turn-around to meet a deadline or maintain
  research momentum. Timing and patience. Just
  the facts, maam.

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Consultant Roles (bottom part of oval)

• (5) Guide
• Help choose a statistical strategy to analyze
  data and answer research questions.
• (6) Teacher
• Explain why an analytical procedure is
  appropriate for a given scenario and how it
  works.
• (7) Data analyst
• Number-crunching and manipulating data.
• (8) Quality assessor
• Checking accuracy and integrity.

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Results
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Consultations

• Overall 237
• By Site
• UCSD 56
• BWH 57
• Pitt 64
• UAB 60
• By Position of Investigator
• Faculty 161
• Fellows Residents 39
• Medical Students 10
• Other 27

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Consultations With Education

• Overall 78
• By Site
• UCSD 70
• BWH 100
• Pitt 67
• UAB 78
• By Position of Investigator
• Faculty 75
• Fellows Residents 79
• Medical Students 100
• Other 93

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A Wide Range of Topics
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A Wide Range of Medical Fields

• Anesthesiology Cardiology Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Clinical Nutrition Emergency Medicine Endocrinolog
  y
• Family Medicine Gastroenterology Genetics
• Geriatrics Hematology Infectious Disease
• Internal Medicine Neurology Neurosurgery
• Oncology Orthopedics Pathology
• Pediatrics Psychiatry Radiology
• Renal Reproductive Medicine Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine Surgery Thyroid

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Conclusions

• Formal education in research skills is lacking
  during medical training.
• Biostatistics education is more fully appreciated
  in real-life projects.
• Sensible and convenient for a consulting
  biostatistician to nourish and expand upon client
  training.
• Learning opportunities for researchers during
  biostatistical consultations add value to this
  resource.
• Institutional support should be encouraged to
  sustain and enhance the educational mission of
  the institution.