The revised guidelines of the Medical Council of India for academic promotions: Need for a rethink.

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 flipside 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 non-biomedical journals and criteria for awarding credit to such publications should also be devised. The MCI requires that the medical faculty engages in research. One measure to achieve this goal is the mandatory ‘thesis’ for postgraduate (masters; MD/MS/DNB) and post-doctoral (DM/MCh/DNB) courses. Each student, regardless of specialty, is required to undertake a research study with a faculty member as the guide and often one-to-a-few faculty members from the same or related subjects as co-guides. Apart from providing training in doing research, the thesis is expected to inculcate an appreciation for research methodology and critical analysis. This experience is relevant to students who will become full-time researchers, and is also beneficial to medical practitioners who may never conduct further research but should be able to discern the merits of newer management options for their patients. The MCI's initial guidelines for promotion to the position of Associate Professor and Professor required publication of at least two research papers by the candidates [5]. In September 2015, the MCI issued a ‘clarification’ on what constitutes ‘research publications’ for promotion of teaching faculty of medical colleges/institutions in India (Box 1) [6]. This ‘clarification’ raises the following issues. Box 1 Guidelines for counting research publications for promotion of teaching faculty of medical colleges/institutions in India as laid down in an order by Medical Council of India in September 2015 a Index agencies: Scopus, PubMed, Medline, Embase/Excerpta Medica, Index Medicus and Index Copernicus b Types of articles to be considered: Original research articles and original research papers. c Criteria for National/International journal: Published by a National/International – specialty journal/journal of a national/international society provided it included in one of the indexes mentioned above. d Authorship: First author, second author e E-journals: E-journals not included The above would also be applicable for ‘accepted for publication’ papers/articles.