H .A. VOHRA
Glenfield Hospital NHS Trust, Leicester, U.K.
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As surgery advances rapidly, so the need for a more critical evaluation of new developments becomes more urgent. This is most likely to be developed in the research environment. However, a well conducted and published MSc research project will earn more points in the SpR short-listing process than a poorly conducted and unpublishable two year research study that is unable to generate a thesis leading to a higher degree.
Keywords: research, training
J.R.Coll.Surg.Edinb., 46, December 2001, 340
Research is a tool, which enables the surgeon to provide the best possible treatment to a patient according to evidence based findings. As surgery advances rapidly, so the need for a more critical evaluation of new developments becomes more urgent. This is most likely to be developed in the research environment. Here the surgeon will be constantly exposed to the critical evaluation of previous work, the design of good projects and the discipline of writing up observations. The opportunity to review papers under supervision also arises. The ability to work with computers, searching databases and presenting at national and international meetings improves. The completion of a research project is often a requirement to a successful surgical career, helping to bridge in the gap between the Senior House Officer (SHO) and Specialist Registrar (SpR) post. Although research leading to a higher degree is not essential for the SpR short-listing process, the chances of getting the job are certainly much greater. In the United Kingdom, the most common route is through an MD or PhD is by research, written up as a thesis. This usually takes two to three years. Attending seminars, taught masters courses, etc. may be a requirement, but is seldom examined and rarely contributes to the final degree. However, registering for an MD or PhD is not a guarantee of its achievement. Research Fellow jobs in any speciality of surgery, which offer an opportunity of achieving these qualifications are very few and fierce competition exists amongst trainees to obtain them.
Many authorities believe that long periods of research should be discouraged at the pre-registrar level. They believe that this leads to a large proportion of time being spent away from clinical work. Recently, increased efforts have been made to make research degrees more accessible and to address dissatisfaction with completion rates.1 These consist of shortening the content of a thesis and compensating with other elements such as taught modules relating to research, essays and projects, and peer-review research articles. These factors might incline some trainees to consider a taught masters degree, for example MSc, as a suitable alternative.
The MSc is normally a one year degree, part of which is taught in a didactic fashion and a proportion of which is spent in a
research project. Courses available include clinical areas of interest to surgical trainees (such as colorectal, vascular and trauma). Some of these master degrees are attached with RMO posts, which help minimise the funding problem. However, clinical work is restricted to a few on-call sessions so as to make as much research time available as possible. Some MScs offered involve studies on surgical innovations and molecular biology, including genetic manipulations. There are generally, lectures on statistical methods and analysis. Practical help with the data is also available in case of difficulties as most of these courses are based in University Hospitals.
The MSc should be carefully thought out. If the trainee has decided which speciality he wants to pursue then a project in the chosen field is advisable, if available. A project in a general area such as wound healing, inflammation, nutrition, molecular biology or genetics may be sensible as long as one finds it interesting and stimulating. An MSc will give invaluable research experience and will help to gain points in interviews for higher surgical training posts, but probably not as many as a well carried out MD or PhD. However, a well conducted and published MSc research project will earn more points in the SpR short-listing process than a poorly conducted and unpublishable two year research study that is unable to generate a thesis leading to a higher degree.
The current basic surgical trainees are probably much more aware of the importance of research leading to a higher degree than at any time in the past. MSc courses are getting harder to get and a large number of applications are received for very few posts available. Research Fellow jobs offering a chance to achieve a higher degree are even fewer in number. In essence, all surgical trainees should have a clear understanding of research methodology and statistical concepts which would lead to critical appraisal of the latest surgical literature and their ultimate approval or disapproval in modern surgical practice.
1.UK Council for Graduate Education Annual Report,1995, p.8
Correspondence: H.A. Vohra,University Hospitals Leicester Glenfield Hospital NHS Trust, Leicester, U.K
Copyright date: 12th August 2001