What a waste[1]. What a waste of public money, a waste of patients’ time, and a waste to those involved at the very bottom of the research ladder, the interviewers, the questionnaire writers, the data collectors.
Medical students and junior doctors, at the beginning of their careers, look to stand out and enthusiastically join in the activities of their seniors. The promise of publications and presentations are like pound signs in their eyes, as they try to separate themselves from the homogenous group. These publications mean points, and points mean prizes, namely extra marks on application to the Foundation Programme, or for further training.
Chapman[2] found that 21% of surgical trials ended early, and of those that did not end 34% were not published. How many hours of work will have gone into these projects by not only clinical researchers, but also those junior members of the team?
How much should a medical student, or junior doctor be involved in research? With highly intensive courses/syllabuses, it takes hard work and determination to become involved in these projects. With over 40% of randomised controlled trials described as a waste, it is very disheartening not to see the fruit of one’s labours. Through no fault of their own, seniors may feel they are offering opportunities to those that ask, however these projects can be under powered, without a true nil hypothesis and as a consequence not publishable.
What should medical students and junior doctors do if they are interested in research or simply wish to improve their CVs? Should intercalated degrees be the only activity before registration? Here there is supervision, a realistic project and an achievable timescale? We need a mentor to support us in our academic aspirations, we need to be advised honestly about projects and we need to be taught so that in the future we do not contribute to the waste.
1 Ioannidis JPA. Clinical trials: what a waste. BMJ 2014;349:g7089–g7089. doi:10.1136/bmj.g7089
2 Chapman SJ, Shelton B, Mahmood H, et al. Discontinuation and non-publication of surgical randomised controlled trials: observational study. BMJ 2014;349:g6870–g6870. doi:10.1136/bmj.g6870
Rapid Response:
What a waste[1]. What a waste of public money, a waste of patients’ time, and a waste to those involved at the very bottom of the research ladder, the interviewers, the questionnaire writers, the data collectors.
Medical students and junior doctors, at the beginning of their careers, look to stand out and enthusiastically join in the activities of their seniors. The promise of publications and presentations are like pound signs in their eyes, as they try to separate themselves from the homogenous group. These publications mean points, and points mean prizes, namely extra marks on application to the Foundation Programme, or for further training.
Chapman[2] found that 21% of surgical trials ended early, and of those that did not end 34% were not published. How many hours of work will have gone into these projects by not only clinical researchers, but also those junior members of the team?
How much should a medical student, or junior doctor be involved in research? With highly intensive courses/syllabuses, it takes hard work and determination to become involved in these projects. With over 40% of randomised controlled trials described as a waste, it is very disheartening not to see the fruit of one’s labours. Through no fault of their own, seniors may feel they are offering opportunities to those that ask, however these projects can be under powered, without a true nil hypothesis and as a consequence not publishable.
What should medical students and junior doctors do if they are interested in research or simply wish to improve their CVs? Should intercalated degrees be the only activity before registration? Here there is supervision, a realistic project and an achievable timescale? We need a mentor to support us in our academic aspirations, we need to be advised honestly about projects and we need to be taught so that in the future we do not contribute to the waste.
1 Ioannidis JPA. Clinical trials: what a waste. BMJ 2014;349:g7089–g7089. doi:10.1136/bmj.g7089
2 Chapman SJ, Shelton B, Mahmood H, et al. Discontinuation and non-publication of surgical randomised controlled trials: observational study. BMJ 2014;349:g6870–g6870. doi:10.1136/bmj.g6870
Competing interests: No competing interests