The revised guidelines of the Medical Council of India for academic promotions: Need for a rethink.
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Date
2016-01
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Abstract
Measuring academic achievements is never an easy task. This is particularly so when
individuals are assessed for promotions in several fields with differing job descriptions.
Assessment by peers is time-consuming and may be prone to bias; thus, objective criteria
are required to minimize these concerns.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) has laid down guidelines for appointments and
promotions of teachers in medical institutions in India. Among the criteria used for
promotions, publication of research is an essential requirement. Though the need for this
requirement has been debated, it is believed that the quality of teaching improves when
medical teachers are involved in research. Many countries have made it mandatory for
their medical faculty to do research; some other countries incentivize the conduct and
publication of research. Reports have also lamented that the physician–scientist might
become an endangered species.1,2 Thus, linking publications with promotions might
benefit both the individual and society. The flip side is that the time spent on research
might take teachers away from teaching or clinical duties, particularly in under-staffed
specialty departments. Further, the quality of research is likely to be poor when the
resources and training in research are lacking.3
Poor quality may even discredit research
as a professional activity. Insistence on a certain amount of published research to maintain
teaching credentials may lead to the phenomenon of ‘publish or perish’.4
Finally, it is
important to consider that biomedical research may, at times, be relevant to nonbiomedical
journals and criteria for awarding credit to such publications should also be
devised.
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Aggarwal Rakesh, Gogtay Nithya, Kumar Rajeev, Sahni Peush. The revised guidelines of the Medical Council of India for academic promotions: Need for a rethink. National Medical Journal of India. 2016 Jan-Feb; 29(1): 1-5.