How much statistics knowledge is needed for an MD doing clinical research?

[donaldtang]

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I'm a graduated MD and will do some clinical research before the start of residency. I have taken introductory level courses in calculus, epidemiology and biostatistics before, and is pursuing a career in academic medicine. How much do I need to know in statistics in order to do very well in clinical research?
In fact, I am fascinated with statistics and will love to advance my knowledge in this field rather than just knowing the basics that is tested in USMLE, which is in my mind not sufficient for research. However, I may not be able to go so deep as a statistician, because I don't have so much time now. Is there any books or online courses that you recommend if I have only 3 months to teach myself on this topic? Do I need to learn linear algebra and advanced calculus or other math course?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[Epiqueen]

I'm a graduated MD and will do some clinical research before the start of residency. I have taken introductory level courses in calculus, epidemiology and biostatistics before, and is pursuing a career in academic medicine. How much do I need to know in statistics in order to do very well in clinical research?
In fact, I am fascinated with statistics and will love to advance my knowledge in this field rather than just knowing the basics that is tested in USMLE, which is in my mind not sufficient for research. However, I may not be able to go so deep as a statistician, because I don't have so much time now. Is there any books or online courses that you recommend if I have only 3 months to teach myself on this topic? Do I need to learn linear algebra and advanced calculus or other math course?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I currently work with clinicians on randomized clinical trials and they seem to have some basic general concepts of statistics. I would suggest at the minimum you should take (if you have not already) Biostatistics 1 and 2. You should also be familiar with some general stopping rules involved in clinical trials, p-values, sample size calculations, power, etc. I would also suggest taking a clinical trials course that is offered by some public health programs.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

 

[Stories]

I think the proficiency depends upon the rest of the team you're working with. Do you have someone else who is highly competent in statistics? If not, you should really buckle down and learn some major statistics. The statistical portion of a publication is very important (probably 2nd most important behind the data collection methods).

 

[donaldtang]

Thanks for the advice! I don't have anyone highly competent in statistics in my team. So is there any textbook or online resources that you recommend for study design, data collection and analysis? Is there any other subjects that I need to learn as a prerequisite?

 

[Stories]

Thanks for the advice! I don't have anyone highly competent in statistics in my team. So is there any textbook or online resources that you recommend for study design, data collection and analysis? Is there any other subjects that I need to learn as a prerequisite?

There are a lot of considerations to take into account to make sure your study is valid. I have not taken any courses in that realm so I don't have a book to recommend, but I definitely highly recommend following up with your university or hospital's biostatistics/research group