The Latest TSHS News

It is a great time to be a member of the Section on the Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences! Between the TSHS Resources Portal, online Webinars, TSHS blog, and the upcoming JSM presentations (just to name a few things) we have so much to offer our nearly 600 members.

This month we successfully hosted our first-ever Webinar, Using the R Commander in Basic Statistics Courses, and we thank John Fox for sharing his time and expertise with us. If you were unable to attend the Webinar in person, TSHS members can access the recording for free – a benefit of membership! Simply login at amstat.org and visit the TSHS eGroup in the ASA Community. The link is on the right hand side, with the presentation audio starting roughly at the 5 minute mark.

ASA elections are underway and we have 2 positions to fill. I encourage you to review the profiles of our very accomplished nominees for Chair-Elect, John Gatta and Laila Poisson, and for Council of Sections Representative, Constantine Daskalakis and Jose-Miguel Yamal. But before you submit your ballot, please be sure to review and vote on the revised Section Charter. Thanks to the efforts led by Carol Bigelow, our current TSHS Council of Sections Representative, we have simplified and reformatted the document to follow the ASA standardized template. The updated version clearly states objectives and functions of the Section; defines the functions, elections/appointments, and terms of the officers; explains the composition and roles of committees; and outlines procedures for meetings and amendments. An official vote is required for approval, so please do not skip this item on the ballot.

The Program Chair, Kendra Schmid, and Program Chair-Elect, Jacqui Milton, have assembled an impressive lineup of presenters for the TSHS-sponsored and co-sponsored sessions at this year’s JSM. See details of those events in their Blog entry. I thank everyone contributing a talk, poster, panel discussion or roundtable.

While at JSM, please be sure to attend the TSHS mixer. It is an open event and we invite you to bring your colleagues along. It is a great opportunity to meet the Section’s officers and network with fellow educators in a relaxed setting. I hope to see you in Vancouver!

Finally, if you have any suggestions for how to increase TSHS membership, please share them with me. You can reach me at jszychow@uab.edu or through the TSHS general email account tshs.asa@gmail.com.