Volume 216 - Issue 11
Selection criteria for Australian and New Zealand medical specialist training programs: another under‐recognised driver of research waste
Authors: TASMAN Collaborative
Med J Aust 2022; 216 (11): 594-594. || doi: 10.5694/mja2.51558
Published online: 20 June 2022
Published online: 20 June 2022
To the Editor: We read with interest the letter by Withers and colleagues1 highlighting the research waste generated by the inclusion of research in the selection criteria for specialist training in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
We agree the inclusion of research for selection or completion of specialty training produces unintended incentives that contribute to poor quality studies and research waste. We also support the notion that “research utilisation, research training, or participation in large research teams” should be prioritised by colleges. Selection criteria for medical specialty training should incentivise contribution to high quality projects and the development of research literacy and skills, rather than publishing many small, low impact articles.
Student‐ and trainee‐led collaborative research groups, such as the TASMAN (Trials and Audit in Surgery by Medical Students in Australia and New Zealand) Collaborative, provide a promising solution to this research waste.2,3 Similar groups have emerged locally and internationally and have successfully delivered large randomised controlled trials and cohort studies.2,3,4 These high impact publications have provided practice‐changing results4 as well as training and opportunities for collaborators to develop research skills. Locally, medical students, junior doctors and surgical trainees have contributed to the recent SUNRRiSE (Single Use Negative Pressure Dressing for Reduction in Surgical Site Infection Following Emergency Laparotomy) randomised controlled trial,5 and POSTVenTT (Postoperative Variations in Anaemia Treatment and Transfusions) prospective audit,6 the results of which are eagerly awaited.
Despite this, the contribution to collaborative research studies is not currently recognised for selection into most specialty training programs in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. We echo the calls of our international counterparts for participation in collaborative research to be accounted for in applications for postgraduate training.7 We applaud the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and General Surgeons Australia for incorporating collaborative research as part of the selection criteria and the points‐based research requirements during General Surgical Education and Training in 2022,8,9 and hope that other specialties follow suit.
We look forward to the emergence of student‐ and trainee‐led collaborative groups from other medical specialties in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Further recognition of collaborative research will improve research skills in medical graduates, reduce research waste and, most importantly, generate meaningful data to improve patient outcomes.
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
Acknowledgements
We thank the following members of the TASMAN Collaborative team for their useful comments on the manuscript before submission: Jordi Elliot, Sarah Goh, Aiden Jabur, Claire Lim, Isabella Ludbrook, Jonathan Obertas, Upasana Pathak, and Jainil Shah.
References
- Withers C, Noble C, Brandenburg C, et al. Selection criteria for Australian and New Zealand medical specialist training programs: another under‐recognised driver of research waste. Med J Aust 2021; 215: 336‐336. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/7/selection‐criteria‐australian‐and‐new‐zealand‐medical‐specialist‐training
- Hunter SPARTAN Collaborative, QUEST Collaborative, STARC Collaborative, et al. Trainee‐and student‐led research networks: promoting research skills and competency through collaboration. ANZ J Surg 2020; 90: 2177‐2179.
- Ahmed WUR, Mills E, Khaw RA, et al. Collaborative student research efforts provide a solution to research wastage. BMJ 2019; 364: l795.
- Bhangu A, Kolias AG, Pinkney T, et al. Surgical research collaboratives in the UK. Lancet 2013; 382: 1091‐1092.
- SUNRRISE Study Group on behalf of the Northwest Research Collaborative and the West Midlands Research Collaborative. An international pragmatic randomised controlled trial to compare a single use negative pressure dressing versus a surgeon’s preference of dressing to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection following emergency laparotomy: the SUNRRISE Trial Protocol. Colorectal Dis 2020; 23: 989–1000.
- POSTVenTT Study Collaborators. Postoperative variations in anaemia treatment and transfusions (POSTVenTT): protocol for a prospective multicentre observational cohort study of anaemia after major abdominal surgery. Colorectal Dis 2022; 24: 228‐234.
- STARSurg Collaborative. Students’ participation in collaborative research should be recognised. Int J Surg 2017; 39: 234‐237.
- General Surgeons Australia, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Selection regulations: 2022 Australian selection to surgical education and training in general surgery for 2023 intake. GSA, 2022. https://www.generalsurgeons.com.au/media/files/Education%20and%20Training/Selection/REG%202022%20Selection%20Regulations%20Australia%20‐%20FINAL%20v2%200.pdf (viewed May 2022).
- General Surgeons Australia, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Training regulations: General Surgery Education and Training Program. https://www.generalsurgeons.com.au/media/files/Education%20and%20Training/GSET/REG%202022‐03‐07%20March.pdf (viewed May 2022).
Linked content
-
MJA Letter: Selection criteria for Australian and New Zealand medical specialist training programs: another under‐recognised driver of research waste
-
MJA Letter: In reply