A new method of teaching medical statistics at medical universities in Guangdong

Although statistics play a significant role in the medical profession, studying medical statistics is challenging because this topic is more difficult to comprehend than other subjects included in medical curricula. Therefore, improving the teaching of medical statistics to meet the requirements of modern medical students/physicians is an essential task. In this study, based on responses about studying medical statistics completed by medical students, we developed a novel approach to teaching medical statistics named "purpose, database, types of variable, and relationship between variables (PDTR)", which emphasizes how to simply master statistical applications and reduces class hours for students. Also, pilot course was implemented. We discovered that the participants using PDTR performed better on examinations of medical statistics than did graduates of institutions using traditional teaching methods (86.39{+/-}3.72 vs 73.72{+/-}6.58, P < 0.001). In addition, positive feedback was received by participants (>80%). Altogether, as a completely novel pedagogical method of teaching medical statistics, PDTR overcomes the negative attitudes of students towards medical statistics, enhances enthusiasm for learning statistics, and remarkably simplifies the process of studying statistical applications. These advantages are undoubtedly conductive to improving the effective use of medical statistics in physicians professional work.