Chung Stephen W, Clifton Joanne S, Rowe Andrea J, Finley Richard J, Warnock Garth L
Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
Can J Surg. 2009 Oct;52(5):401-6.
Research is an important mandate for academic surgical divisions. However, there is widespread concern that the current health care climate is leading to a decline in research activity. A University of British Columbia (UBC) academic surgical division attempted to address this concern by strategically recruiting PhD research scientists to prioritize research and develop collaborative research programs. The objective of our study was to determine whether this strategy resulted in increased research productivity.
We reviewed the UBC Department of Surgery database to assess research funding obtained by the Division of General Surgery for the years 1994-2004. We searched MEDLINE for peer-reviewed publications by faculty members during this period.
Research funding increased from a mean of Can$417,292 per year in the 5 years (1994/95-1998/99) before the recruitment of dedicated PhD scientists to a mean of Can$1.3 million per year in the 5 years following the recruitment strategy (1999/2000-2003/04; p = 0.012). Funding for the initial 5 years was Can$2.1 million, including 1 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) grant. Funding increased to Can$6.8 million, including 22 CIHR grants over the subsequent 5 years (p < 0.001). Collaborative research led to the awarding of multidisciplinary grants exceeding Can$4 million with divisional members as principle or coprinciple investigators. From 1994/05 to 1998/99, the total number of peer-reviewed publications was 116 (mean 23.2, standard deviation [SD] 7 per year), increasing to 144 from 1999/2000 to 2003/04 (mean 28.8, SD 13 per year). The trend was for publications in journals with higher impact factors in the latter 5-year period.
Strategic recruitment resulted in increased and sustained research productivity. Interactions between research scientists and clinicians resulted in successful program grant funding support. These results have implications for sustaining the research mission within academic departments of surgery.
研究是学术外科部门的一项重要任务。然而，人们普遍担心当前的医疗保健环境正导致研究活动减少。英属哥伦比亚大学（UBC）的一个学术外科部门试图通过战略性地招聘博士研究科学家来优先开展研究并制定合作研究计划，以解决这一担忧。我们研究的目的是确定这一策略是否提高了研究生产力。
我们查阅了UBC外科系数据库，以评估普通外科部门在1994 - 2004年期间获得的研究资金。我们检索了MEDLINE，查找该时期教职员工的同行评审出版物。
在招聘专职博士科学家之前的5年（1994/95 - 1998/99），研究资金平均每年为417,292加元，在实施招聘策略后的5年（1999/2000 - 2003/04），平均每年增至130万加元（p = 0.012）。最初5年的资金为210万加元，包括1项加拿大卫生研究院（CIHR）的资助。在随后的5年中，资金增至680万加元，包括22项CIHR资助（p < 0.001）。合作研究促成了超过400万加元的多学科资助获批，部门成员作为主要或共同主要研究者。从1994/05到1998/99，同行评审出版物总数为116篇（平均每年23.2篇，标准差[SD]为7篇），从1999/2000到2003/04增至144篇（平均每年28.8篇，SD为13篇）。在后一个5年期间，发表在影响因子较高期刊上的文章呈上升趋势。
战略性招聘提高并维持了研究生产力。研究科学家与临床医生之间的互动促成了成功的项目资助支持。这些结果对在外科系维持研究任务具有启示意义。
