Results of a PhD Program in Medical Sciences in a Public South American University

Abstract

Introduction: The number of doctoral programs in medical sciences and health professionals trained for clinical research is scarce, particularly in South America. The aim of this study was to describe the results of a doctoral program in medical sciences (DPMS) in a public South American university. Methods: Observational study. All cohorts in the program from 2008 to 2020 were included in the analysis. Outcome variables were graduation rate and scientific productivity of graduates in terms of publications in WoS and SCOPUS journals databases. Other variables of interest were student´s biodemographical and academic characteristics, and faculty members (n=11 professors) productivity (WoS and SCOPUS publications), Descriptive statistics were applied. Results: During the evaluation period 211 professionals applied to the DPMS program, 52 were accepted (24.6% acceptance rate), and 18 graduated (graduation rate of 58.1%). Graduate productivity was 160 papers (123 in WoS database and 44 in SCOPUS), adding up to an average of 9.2 publications per graduate. Median graduation time was 49 months. Faculty members´ (n=11) productivity totaled 474 scientific articles between 2016-2020 (450 in WoS database journals and 24 in SCOPUS database journals), adding up to an average of 40.9 publications per faculty member during that time period, the equivalent of an average of 8.2 publications per academic per year. Discussion: The results of a recent but consolidated PhD program in medical sciences are presented. We emphasize the acceptance and graduation rate, and the scientific productivity of both graduates and faculty members. Keywords: Education, Graduate;, Medical, Graduate, Doctorate programs, PhD programs