Introduction:

For a greater performance in the learning of Biostatistics thinking about the future doctors, it is crucial the analysis of the self-efficacy experienced by the medical student during the training in this subject in Degree.

Aims:

To document the statistical self-efficacy in the students of Degree in Medicine and to evaluate their relationship with the performance in the subject of Biostatistics.

Subjects and methods:

Observational, transversal and analytical study in students of the first year of Degree in Medicine at University of Zaragoza. The Spanish version of the Current Statistics Self-Efficacy (CSSE) survey was used to measure statistical self-efficacy.

Results:

They answered 88.9% (n = 40) of the students. The average score of most of the CSSE items was statistically higher than neutral (average score of 3.5 on a scale of 6 points; p < 0.05), although they doubt their ability to identify the factors that they influence the value of the power. No differences were found by sex in terms of statistical self-efficacy. The study of the correlation showed that those students with the highest level of statistical self-efficacy obtained a higher score in the Biostatistics test.

Conclusions:

Medical students have a high statistical self-efficacy, although the trust they have in key concepts such as statistical power must be increased. Therefore, more research is needed focusing on changes in the teaching methodology, from the beginning of the Degree, to increase said self-efficacy.

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