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Multimedia Battery for Assessment of Cognitive and Basic Skills in Mathematics (BM-PROMA)
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Physician numeracy: essential skills for practicing evidence-based medicine
1Department of Pediatrics, UPMC St. Margaret Family Medicine Residency Program and Center for EBM Education, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. raog@upmc.edu
Family Medicine
|May 10, 2008
Summary
Physician numeracy, or mathematical skills for medicine, is crucial for evidence-based medicine (EBM). Enhancing numeracy in residency curricula can improve statistical interpretation and EBM practice.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Evidence-Based Medicine
- Physician Training
Background:
- Evidence-based medicine (EBM) teaching is prevalent in family medicine residencies, often via journal clubs or article summaries.
- Current EBM teaching methods have limitations in developing physicians' statistical interpretation skills.
- Physicians report low confidence and poor skills in understanding statistics, essential for interpreting research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of physician numeracy in EBM.
- To propose enhancing numeracy within residency curricula as a foundation for EBM.
- To describe curriculum objectives for numeracy based on EBM principles.
Main Methods:
- Review of current EBM teaching practices in family medicine residencies.
- Analysis of physician self-confidence and skills in statistical interpretation.
- Development of numeracy curriculum objectives grounded in EBM.
Main Results:
- Traditional EBM teaching methods are insufficient for developing statistical competency.
- Physician numeracy is a critical, yet often neglected, component of medical training.
- A structured numeracy curriculum can bolster EBM skills.
Conclusions:
- Physician numeracy requires greater emphasis in residency education.
- Integrating numeracy into EBM teaching can improve physicians' ability to interpret research.
- Proposed curriculum objectives offer a framework for enhancing numeracy in medical training.
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