Faculty Perceptions of Biostatistics Knowledge Among Ophthalmology Residents
Narrative Responses:
Purpose
To understand the perceptions of faculty clinicians regarding the biostatistics knowledge of their graduating versus entering ophthalmology residents.
Methods
Online survey links were emailed to ophthalmology residency training programs in the USA Canada and the United Kingdom for completion by clinicians who have completed their training and have active affiliations to ophthalmology residency training programs.
Results
The survey was completed by 127 clinicians. The majority of clinicians (81%) believe entering residents understand <20% of the methods and statistical analysis of journal articles, whereas graduating residents understand <60%. Faculty that endorsed lower understanding among residents were primarily practicing in academic centers rather than private clinics, and spend greater than 7% of their time in research activities. There was no significant variation by region.
Conclusion
Faculty clinicians perceive their residents’ knowledge in biostatistics to be inadequate to fully comprehend the methods and analysis sections of journal articles.