Using Statistics in Medicine

[Birdnals]

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Hey all,

I am currently a premed statistics major. I have a love for both statistics and medicine and am looking for ways to combine the two. As of know, I see statistics being a valuable tool for setting up and analyzing studies. This is great and I really enjoy looking for correlations and studying outcomes but I was also wondering what other applications you guys may have experienced during your time in med school. For example, I have read somewhere that statistics are heavily used in neuroscience. How so?

I guess I am looking for ways that might allow me to use statistics in a manner that allows for more "discovery" rather than looking past information. I don't necessarily want to go down that road but I would like to know what options there are so I can look for those kinds of applications while seeking research positions.

 

[D elegans]

This may sound too general for you but you can do anything you want with statistics in medicine and it will be very helpful in research. Pick any any of interest within medicine and you will be able to use your statistics background in it. Being proficient in statistics will be of great use to you in academic medicine.

 

[Lucidity]

This may sound too general for you but you can do anything you want with statistics in medicine and it will be very helpful in research. Pick any any of interest within medicine and you will be able to use your statistics background in it. Being proficient in statistics will be of great use to you in academic medicine.

+1. It will also give you a leg up when reading current literature. You will be surprised how many studies out there are bunk because they used the wrong analysis to answer their questions.

 

[Birdnals]

+1. It will also give you a leg up when reading current literature. You will be surprised how many studies out there are bunk because they used the wrong analysis to answer their questions.

This is exactly where I have started my journey in the marriage between the two subjects. I have explored these ideas through books and journal articles and I can see how it's applications in study design and analysis are numerous. For a statistician it's really exciting stuff.

What I'm just curious about though is if you guys have seen any topics whee statistics and modeling are used to describe ans/or predict the way certain biological systems function. Even though the medical terminology would be above my head I would be curious to take a look at some literature that incorporates these aspects of statistics and medicine.

Thanks again for the replies guys, it's good to see that my interests will serve me well in a medical career no matter what I choose to do.

 

[Lucidity]

This is exactly where I have started my journey in the marriage between the two subjects. I have explored these ideas through books and journal articles and I can see how it's applications in study design and analysis are numerous. For a statistician it's really exciting stuff.

What I'm just curious about though is if you guys have seen any topics whee statistics and modeling are used to describe ans/or predict the way certain biological systems function. Even though the medical terminology would be above my head I would be curious to take a look at some literature that incorporates these aspects of statistics and medicine.

Thanks again for the replies guys, it's good to see that my interests will serve me well in a medical career no matter what I choose to do.

Well not precisely biological functions but on a population level I would recommend you look into Epidemiology.

 

[LaughingMan]

+1. It will also give you a leg up when reading current literature. You will be surprised how many studies out there are bunk because they used the wrong analysis to answer their questions.

+1,

In my graduate Biostatistics class, our professor pulled up many studies and showed how they all used the wrong tests and analysis.

My city provides him with large data sets (Talking in the hundreds of thousands) and he analyzes them and does predictions.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

IMHO every physician should be well-versed in statistics and understanding research in general. I've read too many an article where the physician doesn't know wtf he's talking about.

 

[Didierdrogba]

look into preventative medicine, epidemiology, public health, or modeling of disease.

 

[evilbooyaa]

imho every physician should be well-versed in statistics and understanding research in general. I've read too many an article where the physician doesn't know wtf he's talking about.

+1

 

[thedrjojo]

look into preventative medicine, epidemiology, public health, or modeling of disease.

👍

although i'm a surgical resident and pursuing research and an MPH in quantitative methods/biostatistics focus, so I clearly think it can be useful and helpful for a surgeon...

 

[ArcGurren]

a statistics background is a huge advantage in most fields of academic medicine. it will give you a big leg up if you want to do clinical research.

 

[kedrin]

yay statistics 😴

 

[Didierdrogba]

a statistics background is a huge advantage in most fields of academic medicine. it will give you a big leg up if you want to do clinical research.

Even if you don't want to do research, stats help you big time in terms of understanding and critiquing articles. Downside is, you suddenly realize that there are soooo many crappy articles out there. Anyways, no statistics, no science

 

[Didierdrogba]

+1. It will also give you a leg up when reading current literature. You will be surprised how many studies out there are bunk because they used the wrong analysis to answer their questions.

Even if you don't want to do research, stats help you big time in terms of understanding and critiquing articles. Downside is, you suddenly realize that there are soooo many crappy articles out there. Anyways, no statistics, no science

ooohhh, sorry I just totally repeated your point

 

[Birdnals]

👍

although i'm a surgical resident and pursuing research and an MPH in quantitative methods/biostatistics focus, so I clearly think it can be useful and helpful for a surgeon...

That's awesome. What do you hope to use your quantitave training for in your career as a surgeon? Are you seeing applications outside of study design and analysis?

 

[mmmcdowe]

Statistics are so valuable in research. I wish I was better at them. That being said, basic statistics help in all aspects of medicine (sensitivity, specificity, etc).

 

[CherryRedDracul]

Even if you don't want to do research, stats help you big time in terms of understanding and critiquing articles. Downside is, you suddenly realize that there are soooo many crappy articles out there. Anyways, no statistics, no science

Oh Dear God, so much this.