Graphical and numerical skills in pre- and postgraduate medical students from a private university

Physicians and medical students need to understand numerical and graphical health data in order to provide patients with correct information.

The graphical and numerical skills of medical students and residents from a private university in Lima, Peru, were determined in this investigation.

Cross-sectional, descriptive study. The Objective Numeracy, Subjective Numeracy and Graph Literacy Scales were applied to medical students at their two final years of medical school and to medical residents.

Of 169 participants, 52.07% were sixth-year and 18.34% were seventh-year students and 29.58% were residents. Mean objective numeracy score was 7.34, mean subjective numeracy was 34.12 and mean graph literacy was 10.35. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that Subjective and Objective Numeracy Scales highest means were associated with the male gender and training on research methodology (p < 0.05). Graph Literacy Scale highest means were associated with the male gender and younger age (p-value < 0.05).

Numeracy and Graph Literacy Scales mean scores were high in medical students.