I must admit that I, too, was—and still am—a medical teacher who guided—or is misguided the more appropriate word?—over three dozen postgraduates in writing their MD theses. I do not wish to stand on a pedestal or adopt a “holier than thou” posture. I have erred, misjudged, behaved badly, mishandled situations, and at times, been unfair—even hostile—to my students.
That said, I am increasingly conscious of the abysmal depths to which MD and DNB theses have now sunk. I firmly believe they are no longer worth the price of the paper they’re printed on—though, these days, they’re rarely printed at all.
Far from inspiring curiosity, intellectual honesty, and a love for science, the thesis mandate is doing the opposite: breeding dishonesty, encouraging plagiarism, short-changing science, and fostering a disturbing disregard for data.
Isn’t it time to pause and reflect? Let us experiment. Suspend the thesis requirement for a while. Instead, teach students the critical art of appraising evidence and applying it at the bedside.
Teach them how to read NEJM, Lancet, BMJ, JAMA, PLoS—to grasp the strengths and limitations of a study, and to assess its applicability in our setting, with our patients. Teach them how to read a table—and a graph. Teach them that research does not begin and end with p-values alone, and that there are more nuances in a study than meet the eye. Teach them the art of critically appraising published work.
I am sure we would, at the very least, be avoiding overdiagnosis and overtreatment by doing so. The cost of medical care might come down, because doctors would be better informed, and their bedside decisions would be guided by science—not by big Pharma.
Let’s see what happens. I’m certain it won’t harm the next generation of doctors—especially when medical colleges in India—shouldn’t we call them factories?—seem to be mass-producing them anyway.
