ABSTRACT
Objectives: Generally, academic promotions, job retention, job mobility, and professional development of a medical faculty members are judged primarily by the growth in publication outputs. Universities and research institutions are more likely to recruit and promote those academics carrying voluminous resumes with larger number of published articles. This review elaborates the causes and consequences of the pressure to publish and the ways and means to cope with this paradigm
Methods: In 2015, database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, LISTA [EBSCO], Medline and Oxford University Library were searched for the English language full-text articles published during 2000-2015, by using MeSH terms "pressure to publish", "urge to publish", "research ethics", "plagiarism", "article retraction", "medical field". This search was further refined by selecting the articles in terms of relevancy and contents
Results: This research showed that some universities offer generous grants to researchers with a high h-index and with more publications in elite journals, which promise an enhanced prospect of citations and elevation in the scientific rankings of the funding institutions. This generates an involuntary obsession to publish with the primary intention to obtain promotions, high scientific rankings, and improved job security. This compelling pressure to publish results in widespread publication of non-significant research with a high index of plagiarism that eventually leads to an increased frequency of retractions
Conclusion: Research centers and academic institutions have an obligation to train their academics in sound scientific writing and to apprise them of the publication ethics and the grave consequences of plagiarism and research misconduct
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Surgical training courses provide the trainees with anatomical knowledge and manual dexterity. This study aimed to capture the learning styles and training preferences of participants attending a masterclass training centre. This data can facilitate the program directors in tailoring the course contents to enhance the learning environment
Methods: Between 2010 and 2013, a questionnaire was administered to all participants at the end of each course at the Advanced International Minimally Invasive Surgery Academy [AIMS] in Milan, Italy. The instrument explored the feedback of participants regarding their surgical experiences, learning needs and desired surgical educational resources in minimally invasive surgery
Results: Of 636 respondents, 606 [95%] performed some laparoscopic procedures at their workplaces. Of the respondents, 467 [73%] preferred 'direct experience in the operating room', 424 [66%] preferred 'tutoring with skilled colleague', and 275 [43%] wanted 'hands-on training on animals in their own countries'. Female respondents favoured national congresses as educational resources more than males, with mean ranks of 207.22 vs. 176.51, respectively [p 0.022]. The respondents serving hospitals preferred international congresses [mean rank 189.21] more than the respondents serving universities [mean rank 181.72] and private clinics [mean rank 127.45]
Conclusion: This study shows that surgical trainees prefer hands-on training in operating rooms, tutoring by skilled colleagues and short fellowships to learn and enhance their surgical skills. Surgical educators can focus on these preferred surgical educational resources to enhance students' acquisition of surgical skills