Evaluation on research talent grant project and international publications at the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital

Abstract

         Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University has a vision to be a leading faculty in the international level and also the guiding light for the health of the country.  To reach this goal, international publication should be increased, but it is not yet at a satisfaction level.  So, the research talent grant project was launched hoping that international publication should be increased not only the number but also the quality of the research.  The objective of this study was to evaluate the research talent grant project using international publication from Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science database as an indicator of success.

         This retrospective study was conducted at the faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital between 2011-2013. In 2011, the total of 17 faculty staffs were recruited with the total grant of  8,694,750  baht, in 2012, the total of 19 faculty staffs were recruited with the total grant of  8,834,182  baht and in 2013,  the total of faculty staffs of 24 were recruited with the total grant of 10,494,330  baht.  In terms of international publication in 2011  this group produced  59 papers from the total of 244 papers of the faculty (24.18 percent), in 2012 produced 69 papers from the total of 261 (26.44 percent) papers and in 2013 produced 81 papers from the total of 243 papers (33.33 percent).  Comparing faculty staffs of this group and the total faculty staffs, we found that only 3.06 percent, 3.37 percent and 4.21 percent of faculty staffs was in the research talent grant project between 2011-2013, respectively.  Comparing research done in talent grant project, we found that 3.47, 3.64 and 3.37 papers per person per year but total faculty staff only 0.44, 0.47 and 0.43 papers per person per year between 2011 - 2013.

         In conclusion, the research talent grant project was highly effective in terms of research productivity.  But the number of faculty staff who were granted each year are not adequate.  It should be proactive to recruit more faculty staffs from 4.21 to around 12-15 percent to make a leverage for international publications in short term goal.