Page 47 - Statistics for Dummies

Chapter 2: The Statistics of Everyday Life
Using Statistics at Work
Now put down the Sunday newspaper and move on to the daily grind of the
workplace. If you’re working for an accounting firm, of course numbers are
part of your daily life. But what about people like nurses, portrait studio pho-
tographers, store managers, newspaper reporters, office staff, or construc-
tion workers? Do numbers play a role in those jobs? You bet. This section
gives you a few examples of how statistics creep into every workplace.

You don’t have to go far to see how statistics weaves its way in and out of
your life and work. The secret is being able to determine what it all means and
what you can believe, and to be able to make sound decisions based on the
real story behind numbers so you can handle and become used to the statis-
tics of everyday life.
Delivering babies — and information 31
Sue works as a nurse during the night shift in the labor and delivery unit at
a university hospital. She takes care of several patients in a given evening,
and she does her best to accommodate everyone. Her nursing manager has
told her that each time she comes on shift she should identify herself to the
patient, write her name on the whiteboard in the patient’s room, and ask
whether the patient has any questions. Why? Because a few days after each
mother leaves with her baby, the hospital gives her a phone call asking about
the quality of care, what was missed, what it could do to improve its service
and quality of care, and what the staff could do to ensure that the hospital is
chosen over other hospitals in town. For example, surveys show that patients
who know the names of their nurses feel more comfortable, ask more ques-
tions, and have a more positive experience in the hospital than those who
don’t know the names of their nurses. Sue’s salary raises depend on her abil-
ity to follow through with the needs of new mothers. No doubt the hospital
has also done a lot of research to determine the factors involved in quality
of patient care well beyond nurse-patient interactions. (See Chapter 17 for in-
depth info concerning medical studies.)
Posing for pictures
Carol recently started working as a photographer for a department store
portrait studio; one of her strengths is working with babies. Based on the
number of photos purchased by customers over the years, this store has
found that people buy more posed pictures than natural-looking ones. As a
result, store managers encourage their photographers to take posed shots.

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