Development of an academic productivity scale for departments of physical medicine and rehabilitation

Effects of institutional policies and characteristics on research productivity at Vietnam science and technology universities

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of institutional research promoting policies and organizational characteristics on research productivity in Vietnam universities. The authors employed a dataset surveying faculty staff from 115 universities across the country and used multivariate data analysis to analyse data and test hypotheses. It was found that institutional characteristics such as size, time in operation and advantageous location were positively associated with research productivity. Specifically, universities located in the big cities with longer time in operation and larger size had higher level of international publication. Institutional policies such as management and infrastructure had a positive impact on research productivity while human resource policies had a positive impact on faculty research outcomes. The study also provided some suggestions to promote research productivity of Vietnam universities.

Publish or Perish: Research Productivity During Residency Training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Research training equips residents with the skills to consume and produce research evidence and deliver evidence-based care. Within Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, studies have historically demonstrated low rates of resident research productivity. Although Canadian residency requirements mandate research participation, little is known about Canadian residents' research productivity. Using standard systematic review search strategies, we evaluated the rate and type of peer-reviewed publications produced by resident physicians during postgraduate medical training for a historic cohort of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residents who successfully passed the Canadian Royal College Fellowship examination in 2015, 2016, and 2017 (N = 74). Resident physicians produced 62 peer-reviewed publications during the study period. A total of 43.2% of resident physicians produced at least one such publication and 20.3% produced more than one. The resident physician was the first author for 51.6% of publications. Reviews were the most frequent publication type (19.4%), followed by observational studies (16.1%) and case reports (16.1%). Musculoskeletal conditions (11.3%) and stroke (9.7%) were the most frequent areas of study. Most publications were in nonrehabilitation journals. These findings demonstrate modest research productivity despite mandatory research participation; although research productivity is higher than in previous cohorts, publications of convenience, such as reviews and case reports, are similarly frequent.

The Academic RVU: A System for Measuring Academic Productivity

Despite the importance of teaching, research, and related activities to the mission of academic medical departments, no useful and widely agreed-on metrics exist with which to assess the value of individual faculty members' contributions in these areas. Taking the concept of the clinical relative value unit (RVU) as a model, the authors describe the development of an academic RVU (aRVU) system that assigns weights to and creates formulas for assessing productivity in publications, teaching, administrative and community service, and research. The resulting aRVU schema was implemented on a Web-based system that incorporates a number of novel tools, including a curriculum vitae manager that automatically maintains and calculates total aRVU scores and breaks out component elements for each individual and for the department as a whole. The benefits and limitations of this system are discussed, as well as the potential advantages in sharing this approach with other radiology departments and other medical disciplines. Wide acceptance and implementation would make the aRVU the appropriate counterpoint to the clinical work RVU in academic medicine.

The inevitable rise of mediocrity in academic medicine

The present analysis addresses the question of how it has been possible for academic medicine to grow and lose its creative productivity at the same time. A mathematical model is developed to simulate the mechanisms that govern growth of medical systems over time. Time-dependent growth of system size increases the occurrence of statistical deviations of all system parameters. Deviations are correlated with costs and creative output. As deviation-induced costs start to strain the system's tolerance, means become implemented to restrict deviation, which ultimately also reduces its creative output. To maintain growth combined with high levels of creative output, an academic medical system would need to continuously branch off and nurture smaller subsystems, which pursue their own set of goals relatively independently of the overall academic structure.

The relationship of clinical and academic productivity in a university hospital radiology department

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between clinical and academic productivity over a 2-year period in a university hospital radiology department.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Clinical productivity, as determined by the number of total professional relative value units generated, was compared with academic productivity, which was determined by the number of published peer-reviewed articles, published non-peer-reviewed articles, published abstracts, and presentations delivered by each full-time clinical faculty member. The relationships of age, academic rank, administrative position, and division within the department were also assessed for their effect on relative value units and academic productivity.

RESULTS

We found a significant inverse relationship between relative value units and the number of published peer-reviewed articles, published abstracts, and presentations. Age, academic rank, and administrative responsibilities had no effect on the number of relative value units. Faculty in the neuroradiology and cardiovascular-interventional radiology divisions generated more relative value units than did other faculty members.

CONCLUSION

Faculty members with higher levels of clinical productivity showed significantly lower levels of academic productivity. This finding is consistent with the idea that increases in the clinical workload may diminish research output.