This article is transcribed by SimpRead, original source at mp.weixin.qq.com
How many papers should a regular full-time 3-year clinical medicine PhD student publish when graduating? I must clearly state my absolutely correct viewpoint: normally one paper, at most two, three is too many—anything more is either untrue or rubbish.
It is currently the season when master’s graduates from various hospitals contact me about pursuing a PhD. I have received inquiry emails from over 50 students. By all reason, I certainly hope to recruit master’s graduates whose research focuses on pleural diseases, but unfortunately, I have not encountered a single one. This is understandable since, within the People’s Republic, there are only two academic institutions with a long-term, fixed research focus on the basics and clinical exploration of pleural effusion: one is Beijing Chaoyang Hospital where I currently work, the other is Wuhan Union Hospital where I used to work.
For master’s graduates whose research direction is not pleural disease, it is not a problem to change course and adopt new research ideas. After all, young people’s plasticity holds infinite possibilities and hope. I myself initially researched the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma and entered a new field, accumulating years of work to perform well. What shocks me is that some students already list 5 SCI papers published on their CVs, with several more awaiting publication—and many are still professional students.
I have trained over 100 graduate students. Except for two who were in combined master-PhD programs, I have never seen a genius who published more than two papers by graduation—until this day in 2022. I cannot understand how papers beyond two can still have value. Without a doubt, some data can be gradually supplemented and refined, much of which requires the next generation or even the next two generations of students to continue. From this perspective, one doctoral student can publish multiple papers, but their quality is never judged by quantity. A paper’s merit is obvious to insiders at a glance.
If it is clinical research rather than basic research, it takes even longer. Clinical research papers published within 24 months, even if argued to have some value, are extremely limited and absolutely not within my own standard. If you don’t understand, I can write another article explaining it in detail until you do.
Finally, I emphasize once more the clear viewpoint of this article: the number of papers published by a regular medical doctoral graduate upon graduation should be one normally, two at most, three is too many—anything beyond is either untrue or rubbish. If this statement does not match the situation of any exceptionally talented medical doctor within the past 20 years, this very second, or the next 10 to 30 years, please notify me. I will surely study their work within 24 hours and then publicly engage in a deep discussion with you.
November 10, 2022