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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
The Impact Of Calculators On A Test Of Clinician Numeracy: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Anne A. Taylor, Douglas R. Corfield, Lucie M. Byrne-Davis
The Impact Of Calculators On A Test Of Clinician Numeracy: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Anne A. Taylor, Douglas R. Corfield, Lucie M. Byrne-Davis
Numeracy
Clinician numeracy (CN), the ability to use and understand quantitative data in patient care, is an important skill for healthcare professionals. Nonetheless, it is recognized that many healthcare professionals, including doctors, have deficiencies in CN, and that this may affect patient safety. In our previous research using the Medical Interpretation and Numeracy Test (MINT), we found that many doctors in training in the UK had low CN. However, participants were not permitted to use calculators when taking the MINT, even though staff has access to calculators in clinical practice. Therefore, our original study may have underestimated doctors’ CN, compared to …
Clinician Numeracy: Use Of The Medical Interpretation And Numeracy Test In Foundation Trainee Doctors, Anne A. Taylor, Lucie M. Byrne-Davis
Clinician Numeracy: Use Of The Medical Interpretation And Numeracy Test In Foundation Trainee Doctors, Anne A. Taylor, Lucie M. Byrne-Davis
Numeracy
Patient safety is a priority in healthcare today. Good clinician numeracy in doctors contributes to patient safety, since it is essential for accuracy in prescribing, and in data interpretation. Evidence, however, suggests that although doctors are assumed to be highly numerate, they often make errors in drug dose calculation and struggle to interpret medical statistics. Having developed a new assessment measure, the Medical Interpretation and Numeracy Test (MINT), we describe its use to evaluate clinician numeracy in 135 recently qualified doctors in the UK ("foundation trainees," i.e., in their first two years post-graduation). The maximum possible test score was 43; …
Clinician Numeracy: The Development Of An Assessment Measure For Doctors, Anne A. Taylor, Lucie M. Byrne-Davis
Clinician Numeracy: The Development Of An Assessment Measure For Doctors, Anne A. Taylor, Lucie M. Byrne-Davis
Numeracy
Low numeracy in doctors poses serious risks to patient safety because inaccurate drug dose calculation may lead to under-treatment or overdose, while erroneous data interpretation affects medical decision making. Most research on numeracy in healthcare focuses on health numeracy in patients, while research on numeracy in doctors, “clinician numeracy”, is limited, partly due to the lack of a suitable assessment measure. We developed a new assessment, the Medical Interpretation and Numeracy Test (MINT), to assess clinician numeracy. The MINT tests computational, analytical and statistical constructs, using a combination of questions validated in other studies, and new test material specifically designed …