Curriculum

Foundations of Biostatistics and Epidemiology (SMD 537)

Total Contact Hours: 8 hours

Course Director: Sabrina Neeley, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Professor, Community Health

Course Description: Foundations of Biostatistics and Epidemiology provides an introduction to the basic concepts and uses of biostatistics and epidemiology as research tools.  This course is designed to encourage self-directed learning. The course content outline lists the topics and competencies you must be able to demonstrate, along with information sources for each topic that I know are credible and accurate. There are many sources of information available for these topics and you are welcome to use anything you find in textbooks, study guides, or online.

Course Learning Goals, Assessment, Practice, Teaching and Learning Activities, and their Integration with the Institutional Educational Objectives:

Institutional Objectives Learning Goals Assessment Activities (graded) Practice/Feedback Activities (non-graded) Teaching & Learning Activities
K1 Students will be able to explain what biostatistics is, and the role it plays in medicine. Exam Practice Quiz

Online modules (PPT)

Required and optional readings

K1 Students will be able to explain the relationships between biostatistics, epidemiology, and evidence-based medicine. Exam Practice Quiz

Online modules (PPT)

Required and optional readings

K1 Students will be able to explain how statistical tools are used to describe patients, or to provide credible evidence for the physician’s use when making Diagnosis (Dx), Therapy (Tx), or Prognosis (Px) decisions and recommendations to patients. Exam Practice Quiz

Online modules (PPT)

Required and optional readings

K1 Students will be able to use biostatistics tools to calculate relevant measures and determine the nature of relationships between variables Exam Practice Quiz

Online modules (PPT)

Required and optional readings

Institutional Educational Objectives

Category addressed Definition
1. Institutional Objectives What does our institution want our graduates to do?
2. Learning Goals If your students mastered the content of your course, what would they be able to do?
3. Assessment Activities (graded)
4. Practice/Feedback Activities (non-graded)
What will students need to do for them and others (peers, professors) to know whether they have achieved this specific learning goal?
5. Teaching and Learning Activities How will students get the information they need to learn?

Knowledge and Lifelong Learning

  • K1: The graduate will demonstrate knowledge of the basic medical sciences; clinical skills; and the ability to acquire, manage, and use current information for clinical decision-making and problem-solving in the care of individual patients, family members, populations, and systems of care delivery.
  • K2: The graduate will demonstrate knowledge of the ethical, social, economic, and cultural influences upon the health of and health care delivery to patients and patient populations, and will be able to propose realistic approaches to improving the health of an individual patient and for a patient population.
  • K3: The graduate will be able to identify the diverse factors that influence the health of the individual and the community; identify the socio-cultural, familial, psychological, economic, environmental, legal, political, and spiritual factors impacting health care and health care delivery; and be able to respond to these factors by planning and advocating the appropriate course of action at both the individual and the community level.

Interpersonal and Communication

  • C1: The graduate will demonstrate the ability to establish a professional relationship with a patient, build a comprehensive medical and social/personal history, conduct either a focused or comprehensive physical examination as indicated, construct a differential diagnosis, and recommend a course of treatment consistent with current standards of care.
  • C2: The graduate will demonstrate the ability to communicate (written and oral) clearly, professionally, and effectively with patients, their family members, health care team members, and peers.
  • C3: The graduate will demonstrate the capacity to listen to and respond appropriately to constructive feedback from peers and teachers, as well as give constructive feedback and evaluation to peers and faculty as requested.

Professionalism, Advocacy, and Personal Growth

  • P1: The graduate will be able to identify personal strengths and weaknesses in the care of patients and working with colleagues and allied health professionals, and, if indicated, demonstrate the ability to make changes in behavior that facilitate collaborative relationships.
  • P2: The graduate will demonstrate through the period of undergraduate medical education a pattern of responsible behaviors consistent with the highest ethical standards of the profession: honesty, confidentiality, reliability, dependability, civility, and punctuality.
  • P3: The graduate will demonstrate a commitment to leadership and the advancement of new knowledge.
Last edited on 12/01/2015.