To train the qualified physician-scientists

Abstract

As advances in medicine have progressed, the development of medical science faces the challenge of significant separation between basic medical research and medical clinical practice. As the bridge between medicine and science, physicians-scientists have a unique potential to combine clinical perspectives with scientific insights. They are defined as doctors with professional degrees who have training in clinical care and are engaged in independent biomedical research. Physician-scientists continue the great pace of recent biomedical research, translate scientific findings to clinical applications and play a vital role in promoting the development of medical science. Without supporting efforts of physician-scientists who have been systematically trained in medicine and science, pressing challenges cannot be met at the forefront of biomedicine. Given the importance of developing the physician-scientist workforce, well-known MD-PhD training programs started in the 1950s. These programs expanded significantly when the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) was launched in 1964 by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health. MSTP has supported over 10000 students who have successfully trained outstanding biomedical scientists and top talents for the United States. In China, the era of health promotion driven by innovation is upon us, and a large number of physician-scientists are needed to meet the development of medical science. Some practices provide preliminary exploration for training physician-scientists, such as MD-PhD programs supported by famous medical schools and the inception of a research hospital. However, physician-scientists have become an “endangered species”. It has been reported that physician-scientists are less likely to play a major role in biomedical research than they were in the past in the United States. This article examines the barriers of physician-scientists with regard to participation in clinical research, such as physician-, research subject-, and institution- and research hospital-related barriers. The future viability and vitality of the physician-scientist workforce pose unique challenges. To encourage physician-scientist participation, strategies are proposed to provide a new path for cultivating excellent physician-scientists. These strategies include proper understanding of the role of physician-scientists in medical innovation, scientific training systems at critical stages of career development, adequate research support from institutions and hospitals, reasonable evaluation and incentive systems, encouraging innovative academic culture, and personal active participation and effort. The great potential of translating scientific achievements into clinical practice and the complex challenges facing the development of medical science suggest the importance and necessity of physician-scientists. A variety of potential approaches should be taken to ensure physicians-scientists’ participation in clinical trials and basic research as well as the sustainable development of the physician-scientist team.