Influence of scientific publication during undergraduate studies on the academic production of medical graduates

Abstract

Introduction: In the era of evidence-based medicine, scientific research is becoming increasingly crucial in medical training and practice, offering numerous benefits for health professionals.

Objective: To determine whether publication during undergraduate studies is associated with publication after graduation from medical school.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the publications of physicians who graduated from the School of Medicine of the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC) during the years 2013-2017. Physicians whose theses are published in the academic repository of the university were included in the study. Scientific publications were obtained through a systematic search in PubMed and Google Scholar. For bivariate analysis, the chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests were used.

Results: A total of 249 participants were analyzed. Seventy-two percent of them published at least once during undergraduate, while 27% published at least once as graduates. An association was found between the number of articles published during undergraduate studies and publications as a graduate (p 0.02). Of the participants who published during their undergraduate studies, 30.4% had subsequent publications (p 0.06).

Conclusions: The proportion of UPC medical students who publish in scientific journals is high. Having published during your undergraduate studies increases the likelihood of continuing to publish as a graduate.