Teaching statistics to physicians using Stata

Abstract

The Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University is a two-year program for physicians leading to a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research Methods. Beginning in July 2004, the program began teaching data analysis using Stata 8 in order to better meet the advanced statistical needs of the students. This paper details the structure and content of the course, how Stata was introduced, and the problems we encountered. Student comments and suggestions on future enhancements to Stata are included. Although challenging, our first semester teaching Stata was a success: the students all learned Stata and, more importantly, continued to use it for the analysis of their own research data after the course was complete. © 2005 StataCorp LP.