Dr. Ashok Shyam. Why do we lack a Research Culture? Analysing the Indian Medical Landscape. PMC ID: PMC5727989
Good medical practices require an existing awareness of current developments in the field. Research is an essential component of growth in medicine, because new developments require extensive study and analysis. However, there are a number of factors which undermine the existence of a good research culture in our country. In this editorial piece, Dr. Ashok Shyam emphasizes upon some of these.
There is a prevalent practice among medical students to depend upon textbooks for carrying out their research and studies. While textbooks are reliable, they are often not current sources from where one can form evidence based knowledge/ practices. Dr. Shyam touches upon this issue- and it is indeed a problem, particularly when research articles fail to get accepted owing to outdated references. Upon reading this article, you will understand the differences between books and journals, and why it is essential for you, as a care giver or health sciences student, to study the latter as extensively as you can. Often, the books you rely on may-be formatted to give you summarized information that will help you clear your exams. But these are not adequate for forming knowledge or asking important questions.
There is also a marked lack of undergraduate student involvement in research projects. Dr. Shyam outlines this problem, and mentions how, by just involving them in simple research practices, they can be made aware of how important journals are and why they should use them.
QMed, through all these years, has been working to achieve good research practices among medical students and practitioners. We believe wholeheartedly in the proper use of good journals for information, since this is the only means of making evidence based medicine available and ensuring that the best care is available for the patients we treat and the best information is put forward in the articles we write. This reading is crisp and concise, and will help you realize the need to branch out when you search for information. The more you limit yourself to a resource, the lesser your knowledge bank about your field will be. So, do go ahead and give this article a read!