Statistics in general as a science is all about the collecting of data
the analysis of data, the interpretation and the reporting of your results
So medical statistics is all about the application of all of that to medicine
so it would include epidemiology, looking at spreads of diseases
how they are distributed, things like that
It would include public health, clinical trials so that could include the design of trials
monitoring the trials as they happen, the analysis of the results
and then interpretation and reporting that back to the clinician
I chose to study this course at the School after I took a module in medical statistics
during my undergraduate study
and I was fascinated by the subject and I went to see the lecturer
and I asked, "How can I become a medical statistician?"
and she referred me to the London School and this specific course
Medical statistics is a fundamental scientific component of health research
In essence it's about explaining or describing variability, particularly in people
so in terms perhaps of a disease, looking at why some people get that disease and others don't
so you're looking at risk factors for a disease
and then hopefully you can modify some of those risk factors to stop people getting the disease
The MSc at the School, that would look at the theory of medical statistics
but also the application of it
so you would look at all the theoretical backgrounds, probability theories, inference, things like that
but then you would also look at what is it to be a medical statistician in practice
so all the lectures are paired up with practicals, so you get to learn all the background
but also you get to look at real data, you get to analyse real data, you get to intepret your results
The unique aspect of this course at the London School
is the practical nature of the computer lab sessions that you have in addition to the theoretical lectures
You will spend a large amount of your time in front of a computer learning real skills
that are applicable to the working environment
One of the great things about the School was the guest lecturers they could get in
so one lunchtime we had a lecture from Professor Cox
who invented lots of the techniques we were using for our analysis at the time
and it really brought it to life, seeing the person who discovered these techniques, invented them
actually teaching to us
That was a wonderful moment in the course I'll remember in years to come I'm sure
The course at the School is one of the longest-running Medical Statistics MSc's
and it's also one of the largest
This year we've got 45 students from 17 different countries
One of the great things about the School is the diversity of backgrounds that people come from
There are people from all over the world, some of them are trained doctors
some of them are changing careers
and I felt I learned as much from the other students as I did from the actual courses
Having a range of backgrounds in the student body for this course
is definitely beneficial to the learning environment
It allowed for an amalgamation of different ideas which helped develop everybody individually
much further than would have happened had we all been from a maths background
Generally our student summer projects will involve analysis of a data set
writing a report, sometimes that can lead to a publication if there's interesting findings
We were all assigned a personal tutor on the course, which was especially useful
when we were doing the project
I had regular meetings with my supervisor, who was able to offer really good suggestions
about how I could carry out the research, what papers I should read
and just to help me learn and develop
It was really beneficial to me to have that kind of contact
but also the freedom to develop my own ideas at the same time
I think the course here equips you with all the skills that you need
to go out and be a medical statistician
You get lots links with clinical collaborators
people who work at the School have got lots of links with different medical areas
You get exposed to lots of different data sets, lots of different areas of statistics
After leaving the London School and starting my job as a medical statistician
I was able to hit the ground running and start programming from day one
and be involved in the team and contribute
I think studying at the London School was definitely the right decision for me at the time of life I was at
I've learned so much, I've been able to embark upon a new career
I've made new friends and learned new skills
It was definitely the right choice
The employment opportunities that you will gain from doing this Master's are fantastic
Many individuals applied for multiple jobs and were offered multiple jobs