Unofficial Guide to Medical Research, Audit and Teaching

by Ceen-Ming Tang, Zeshan Qureshi, Colin Fischbacher

Overview

This book follows ‘The Unofficial Guide to Passing OSCEs’. It teaches all the skills expected of today’s graduates, but omitted in the curriculum. It provides a systematic approach to teaching, research, and audits, including seizing opportunities to undertake these highly competitive activities. It contains checklists for analyzing research, tips for effective teaching, and guidance for portfolios, giving it relevance beyond examinations, in post graduate further education, and as a day-to-day reference.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780957149984
Publisher:	Elsevier Health Sciences
Publication date:	01/21/2015
Series:	Unofficial Guides Series
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Dr Ceen-Ming Tang BA(Oxon) BM BCh MRCGP is based at the University of Oxford, with an interest in pharmacology and translational medicine. She is a qualified GP.

Table of Contents

1 Getting Involved in Research Ceen-Ming Tang Heather Chester Tung On Yau Sze Kan Cecilia Cheux Zeshan Qureshi 9

Opportunities To Do Research 9

Finding The Right Project 13

Finding The Right Mentor 15

Defining A Research Question 19

Designing Your Research Study 19

2 Literature Searching Ceen-Ming Tang Zeshan Qureshi Heather Chester 23

Introduction To Literature Searching 23

Designing A Search Strategy 24

Identifying Relevant Scientific Papers From Your Search Results 27

User Guides To Individual Literature Search Databases 29

3 Statistics and Key Epidemiological Concepts Colin Fischbacher Zeshan Qureshl 35

Developing An Analysis Plan 35

Statistical Analysis 37

Describing Variables 39

Precision 40

Size Difference Between Two Groups 41

Associations Between Continuous Variables 45

Other Approaches To Examining Associations Between Variables 46

Important Epidemiological Concepts 47

4 Basic Science Research Studies Tung On Yau Ceen-Ming Tang Sze Kan Cecilia Cheuk 53

Lab Notebooks 53

Laboratory Equipment 56

Commonly Used Calculations 58

Techniques In Molecular Biology 60

Techniques In Drug Discovery 63

Techniques In Cell Culture And Animal Studies 65

5 Qualitative Research Colin Fischbacher Zeshan Qureshi 67

How Is It Different From Quantitative Research? 67

Key Characteristics Of Qualitative Research 68

Data Collection Methods In Qualitative Research 68

Data Analysis And Reporting 69

6 Economic Evaluation Tim Colbourn 71

Types Of Economic Evaluation 71

How To Conduct An Economic Evaluation 72

How To Assess An Economic Evaluation 76

7 Communicating and Publishing Research Ceen-Ming Tang Zeshan Qureshi 77

The Structure Of A Scientific Paper 77

Submission To Medical Journals 80

Opinion Pieces And New Forms Of Communication 82

Conferences And Research Presentations 84

8 Critical Appraisal Ceen-Ming Tang Colin Fischbacher Zeshan Qureshi James Brooks Sze Kan Cecilia Cheuk 91

A Step-By-Step Guide To Critical Appraisal 91

A Worked Example Using A Published Manuscript 98

Checklists For Critical Appraisals By Study Type 102

9 Clinical Governance Ceen-Ming Tang Rayna Patel 113

An Introduction To Clinical Governance 113

Clinical Audit 114

Service Evaluation And Patient Questionnaires 120

Quality Improvement Projects 123

Leadership And Management 125

10 Teaching Ceen-Ming Tang Debbie Aitken Janet Skinner 127

Teaching Opportunities 127

Teaching Formats 128

How To Set Up A Teaching Programme 131

How To Plan A Lesson 132

Teaching Skills 133

Medical Education Research 139

Keeping A Teaching Portfolio 139

11 Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ceen-Ming Tang 141

Identifying And Prioritising Needs 141

Market Analysis 141

Designing An Innovation 143

Index 147

Editorial Reviews

The books strengths are that it tackles three subjects with an abundance of published material in a succinct, informative and practical way. It is well written and well illustrated with good use of focused tables, checklists, boxes and 'top tip' take home messages. Its main strengths over and above all that is the fact that chapters can be read for specific purposes without the need to read the whole book....This is a very useful and well written book.

BMA Medical Book Awards 2015

During medical school and the early years of postgraduate training, the emphasis is necessarily on preparing new doctors to undertake clinical practice safely and effectively. Increasingly there will be some exposure to teaching and research, but generally not enough for individuals to develop broad experience and expertise in these areas. This book is unique in seeking to introduce such medical students and junior doctors to all the other important aspects of a clinical academic career. This is no easy task, as the topics covered are complex and diverse, so the authors have had to be necessarily selective and brief. The editors and authors of this book have, however, successfully managed to synthesize these diverse topics into bite-sized chunks, within a single coherent and very accessible textbook. For those who want to pursue a clinical academic career, this book will be a great starting point for further study and training. For everyone else, this book will provide a range of concepts, tools and approaches which we hope you will find to be valuable in whatever specialty or area of medicine you choose to pursue.

Michael Ross BSc MBChB DRCOG MRCGP EdD

The Unofficial Guide to Medical Research, Audit, and Teaching is a wonderful and down to earth book. It has dealt with the topic of medical research and publication in a most practical and step wise manner. I am sure, it will act as a light house and illuminate the path for so many young medical professionals who have started their career, and are full of motivation and ideas but are clueless. I will recommend this book to my undergraduate as well as post graduate students.

Alok Sinha

Just passing finals is not enough. In a competitive job market and with little or no formal teaching, we are expected to do research, audit, and teach effectively. This comprehensive book is the perfect solution to this overwhelming situation. Written in simple English, this book covers everything from choosing the right project to presenting and publishing. With handy checklists for critical appraisal and other top tips for teaching, this book is a must read for all medical students and junior doctors!

Eric Ho

Whilst students are often in want of a mentor, the basics of how to approach research opportunities and how to use them are often unclear. This book sets forth to answer the key questions those starting on an academic path may have, and is written in an easy-to-follow, accurate, and thorough way from start to end. It is, most of all, tremendously practical and useful, for example giving excellent tips and examples of how to approach supervisors, what to discuss in the initial meeting, and ways to find funding options. This book is very highly recommended to all medical students and doctors whether they are doing or supervising teaching, audits, or clinical research.

John Park

The Unofficial Guide to Medical Research, Audit and Teaching is an excellent introduction for undergraduates. As with all the books in this series, it is extremely user-friendly, clarifying complex concepts and providing helpful guidance. Whether you are looking for advice on how to approach a potential supervisor, undertake a literature search, initiate a quality improvement project or plan a teaching session, you’ll find great suggestions here. And if you’ve never fully understood the difference between sensitivity and specificity or you are still scratching your head about when case control studies are used, this is the book for you.

Bob Clarke