It’s a common belief that new physicians are not interested in doing research, but that’s not true, writes Olle Larkö. The truth is that if we can provide the right conditions, they will be very positive to it. The issue will be addressed at Medi-SAM ‘s open meeting at SU tomorrow, Thursday 7 November.
‘Physicians are far too old when they get their doctorates, on average more than ten years older than their counterparts in other disciplines. And they lag behind later on in their academic careers as well. A large share of the associate professors at SU are bound to retire in the next few years, only a fraction are younger than 55. This is a problem, for both the academy and the provision of care. Older researchers simply don’t have enough time to contribute as much as the younger ones, that’s obvious.
Some say the reason is that new physicians are not interested in research, but that’s simply not true. One indication to the contrary is the large interest among medical students in becoming teaching assistants.
Older researchers simply don’t have enough time to contribute as much as the younger ones, that’s obvious.
One obstacle for young researchers is how things are prioritised in the clinical daily work at SU. I sometimes hear about research leaders with good funding having problems recruiting co-workers to work with a study. The message from the hospital management is clear: Research is important and should be given priority. Instead the problem is rooted further down in the hierarchy, namely in the challenge of finding the right balance between research and care.
Both SU and the Sahlgrenska Academy have initiated efforts to reduce the average age of our researching physicians. One example is our initiative within basic medicine where young physicians are trained to become researchers and teachers in a subject, our fast-track programme in medicine for PhDs from the natural sciences, and SU’s efforts for younger researchers within the ALF system. Medi-SAM, our group for cooperation with Region Västra Götaland, now wants to take a step further to make it easier for clinical researchers by establishing medical ALF positions.
If you like clinical research and want to help encourage physicians to start their research careers earlier, don’t miss the meeting tomorrow, Thursday 7 November at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
Olle Larkö
