Main description:

This book has been specifically designed to help GP trainees pass the compulsory AKT examination. Each topic has been skilfully refined to correlate directly with primary care and the RCGP curriculum, revealing how and why critical appraisal and evidence based medicine are essential for good medical practice throughout a career as an independent, knowledgeable, caring and thoughtful general practitioner.
It includes invaluable preparation suggestions and an overall outline of the AKT, an introduction to statistics and qualitative methods, quantitative methods, epidemiology, common research methods and outcomes, useful tests used in epidemiological studies, research ethics, measures of mortality and economic analyses. Each chapter features unique, topic specific questions to reinforce comprehension, with an entire final chapter devoted to sample questions, comprehensively testing expertise and developing confidence.
Ideal for revision and self-examination, RCGP AKT: Research, Epidemiology and Statistics gives GP trainees vital edge when preparing for the AKT.

Contents:

Evidence based medicine and evidence-based practice. Passing the AKT. AKT question formats. The importance of statistics! AKT pass rates. Revising for the AKT. Preparation for the AKT. Basic statistics. Why understanding statistics is important. What are statistics? Descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics. Statistical significance. The null hypothesis and p-values. How to evaluate statistics. Limitations. Introduction to statistical methods. Levels of measurement. Descriptive statistics. The normal distribution. Graphical representation of data. Correlation. Confidence intervals. Parametric and non-parametric tests. Choosing a test. Bias. Qualitative methods. Triangulation. Sampling methods and saturation. Qualitative research methodology. Qualitative research methods. Qualitative data analysis. Quantitative methods. The hierarchy of evidence. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Randomised control trials. Cohort studies. Relative risk. Case-control studies. Case series and case reports. Expert opinion and editorials. Epidemiology. Incidence. Prevalence. Sensitivity and specificity. Positive and negative predictive values. Likelihood ratios. Pre and post test probability. Measures of mortality. Economic and quality of life analysis. Research in general practice. Audit. How to answer questions relevant to primary care. Evidence based resources. Research databases and networks. Research in general practice. Social networking. Research ethics. Applying statistics to individuals. How to succeed in the AKT. What next? How is EBM developing? Practice questions. Answers. Glossary and formulas. Index.