| Literature DB >> 29451555 |
Victoria S S Wong1,2, Roy E Strowd3, Rebeca Aragón-García4, Yeseon Park Moon4, Blair Ford4, Sheryl R Haut5, Joseph S Kass6, Zachary N London7, MaryAnn Mays8, Tracey A Milligan9, Raymond S Price10, Patrick S Reynolds3, Linda M Selwa7, David C Spencer1, Mitchell S V Elkind4,11.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is increasing need for peer reviewers as the scientific literature grows. Formal education in biostatistics and research methodology during residency training is lacking. In this pilot study, we addressed these issues by evaluating a novel method of teaching residents about biostatistics and research methodology using peer review of standardized manuscripts. We hypothesized that mentored peer review would improve resident knowledge and perception of these concepts more than non-mentored peer review, while improving review quality.Entities:
Keywords: Education; Medical residency; Peer review; Training
Year: 2017 PMID: 29451555 PMCID: PMC5803578 DOI: 10.1186/s41073-017-0032-0
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Res Integr Peer Rev ISSN: 2058-8615
Fig. 1Study schema. Abbreviations: M mentor meeting (for those randomized to the mentored group), RCT randomized controlled trial
Fig. 2Flow diagram
Participant characteristics
| Demographics ( | Total (78) | Non-mentored (39) | Mentored (39) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, mean (STD) | 30.8 (2.6) | 30.2 (2.2) | 31.3 (2.8) |
| Male sex, | 39 (50%) | 21 (54%) | 18 (46%) |
| Advanced degrees, | |||
| - MD | 57 (73%) | 28 (72%) | 29 (74%) |
| - DO | 2 (3%) | 1 (3%) | 1 (3%) |
| - Additional Graduate degree | 18 (23%) | 10 (25.6%) | 9 (23%) |
| Years since medical school, mean (STD) | 3.4 (1.7) | 3.7 (2.0) | 3.1 (1.3) |
| Year in training, | |||
| - PGY3 | 37 (47%) | 22 (56%) | 15 (38%) |
| - PGY4a | 41 (53%) | 17 (44%) | 24 (62%) |
| Prior epidemiology education, | 35 (45%) | 16 (41%) | 19 (49%) |
| Prior biostatistics education, | 38 (49%) | 21 (54%) | 17 (44%) |
| Prior evidence-based medicine education, | 48 (62%) | 27 (69%) | 21 (54%) |
| Reads scientific journals, | 76 (97%) | 38 (97%) | 38 (97%) |
| Participated in research, | 67 (86%) | 33 (85%) | 34 (87%) |
| No. prior publications, | |||
| - 0 | 32 (41%) | 16 (41%) | 16 (41%) |
| - 1–5 | 39 (50%) | 19 (49%) | 20 (51%) |
| - >5 | 7 (9%) | 4 (10%) | 3 (8%) |
| Current faculty mentor, | 68 (87%) | 37 (95%) | 31 (79%) |
| Baseline perceptions of biostatistics: 5-point Likert score (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) | |||
| “Would like to learn more about biostatistics,” mean (STD) | 4.38 (0.84) | 4.44 (0.85) | 4.33 (0.84) |
| “Can understand almost all of statistical terms in journal articles,” mean (STD) | 2.68 (0.93) | 2.64 (0.99) | 2.72 (0.89) |
| “I do not trust statistics,” mean (STD) | 2.4 (0.87) | 2.54 (0.82) | 2.34 (0.91) |
| “I use statistical information in medical care,” mean (STD) | 3.54 (0.94) | 3.49 (0.91) | 3.59 (0.97) |
| “Necessary to know about statistics,” mean (STD) | 4.71 (0.54) | 4.64 (0.63) | 4.77 (0.43) |
| Confidence in ability to, mean (STD) | |||
| - Interpret | 3.73 (0.82) | 3.82 (0.76) | 3.64 (0.87) |
| - Interpret statistical methods | 2.71 (0.69) | 2.74 (0.75) | 2.67 (0.62) |
| - Assess if correct statistical procedure used | 1.96 (0.81) | 1.95 (0.76) | 1.97 (0.87) |
| - Identify factors influencing study power | 2.45 (0.77) | 2.41 (0.88) | 2.49 (0.64) |
| - Apply study results to clinical practice | 2.96 (0.69) | 2.97 (0.67) | 2.95 (0.7) |
Abbreviation: STD standard deviation
aIncludes 1 PGY-5 in pediatric neurology
Reviews completed by all enrolled participants
| Part A: specific manuscript reviews completed | Total, | Non-mentored, | Mentored, | |
| Manuscript 1: randomized controlled trial | 64 (82%) | 30 (47%) | 34 (53%) | |
| Manuscript 2: systematic review | 49 (63%) | 26 (53%) | 23 (47%) | |
| Manuscript 3: diagnostic accuracy study | 35 (45%) | 18 (51%) | 17 (49%) | |
| Manuscript 4a: observational study | 29 (42%) | 14 (48%) | 15 (52%) | |
| Manuscript 5: randomized controlled trial | 44 (56%) | 24 (55%) | 20 (45%) | |
| Part B: total number of reviews completed | Total (%) | Non-mentored | Mentored |
|
| No reviews completed | 14 (18.0) | 9 (64%) | 5 (36%) | 0.238 |
| 1 review | 10 (12.8) | 2 (20%) | 8 (80%) | 0.0421 |
| 2 reviews | 8 (10.3) | 4 (50%) | 4 (50%) | 1 |
| 3 reviews | 10 (12.8) | 5 (50%) | 5 (50%) | 1 |
| 4 reviews | 15 (19.2) | 8 (53%) | 7 (47%) | 0.77 |
| 5 reviews | 21 (26.9) | 11 (52%) | 10 (48%) | 0.799 |
a9 students (5 non-mentored, 4 mentored) only received 4 manuscripts and did not complete manuscript 4
†Chi-squared with 1 degrees of freedom test
Knowledge, Review Quality Instrument, and study perception
| Total | Non-mentored | Mentored |
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A: knowledge questions | ||||
| Pre-test, mean % correct (STD), | 66.0 (14.7), | 67.8 (14.2), | 64.2 (15.3), | 0.65 |
| Post-test, mean % correct (STD), | 54.9 (12.1), | 53.9 (11.8), | 55.8 (12.3), | 0.14** |
| Change in score, % decline (STD), | −11.1 (17.5), | −13.9 (16.7), | −8.5 (18.2), | 0.48** |
| Part B: overall study perception, 5-point Likert score from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree (STD) | ||||
| Participation has enhanced: | ||||
| - Understanding of research methodology | 3.18 (1.1) | 2.61 (1.2) | 3.69 (0.8) | 0.001 |
| - Interest in clinical research | 3.08 (1.1) | 2.83 (1.2) | 3.31 (1.0) | 0.108 |
| - Understanding of manuscripts | 3.33 (1.1) | 2.87 (1.3) | 3.73 (0.9) | 0.006 |
| - Motivation to read more manuscripts | 3.12 (1.1) | 2.78 (1.2) | 3.42 (0.9) | 0.075 |
| - Interest in peer review | 3.04 (1.0) | 3.09 (0.9) | 3.00 (1.1) | 0.72 |
| - Interest in academic neurology | 3.00 (1.0) | 2.83 (1.0) | 3.15 (1.1) | 0.375 |
| - Application of study results to clinical practice | 3.25 (1.1) | 2.78 (1.1) | 3.65 (0.9) | 0.005 |
| - Explanation of studies to patients | 2.90 (1.2) | 2.43 (1.3) | 3.31 (0.9) | 0.010 |
| - Overall impression | 3.39 (1.1) | 3.22 (1.1) | 3.54 (1.0) | 0.279 |
| - Enjoyment in participating in research study | 3.18 (1.1) | 3.17 (1.1) | 3.19 (1.1) | 0.925 |
| Part C: RQI scores | ||||
| Manuscript 1, mean (STD) | ||||
| - Mean of Q1–7 | 3.46 (0.8) | 3.38 (0.9) | 3.53 (0.7) | 0.56 |
| - Mean of Q8 | 3.48 (0.9) | 3.45 (1.1) | 3.51 (0.8) | 0.92 |
| Manuscript 5, mean (STD) | ||||
| - Mean of Q1–7 | 3.15 (0.84) | 3.06 (0.97) | 3.25 (0.7) | 0.50 |
| - Mean of Q8 | 3.31 (1.0) | 3.13 (1.1) | 3.53 (0.8) | 0.19 |
Abbreviations: STD standard deviation, RQI Review Quality Index, Q question
*Wilcoxon rank-sum test
**ANCOVA adjusting for pre-test scores