UNAM Research to Publication white paper (form)

Compelled to do better, leaders at UNAM’s Medical School (Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) added Research to Publication to their strategic efforts. When users were surveyed two years after, the benefits were clear: Measurably improved research skills Increased research output Instilled confidence Faculty, early career researchers, and published authors regarded it as beneficial 1. Pierre, M., Miklavcic, M., Margulan, M. et al. Research Education in Medical Curricula: a Global Analysis. Med.Sci.Educ. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-022-01542-9. Did you know that less than 20% of medical students feel their curriculum adequately supports their needs to acquire solid research skills?1 Proven to strengthen research output Read how Research to Publication assisted a student in getting published, and learn more about UNAM Medical School's experience. learn how we improved the quality and quantity of published works at one institution.

Experience of Research to Publication at UNAM

Challenge Research plays an important role in medical education and in improving the overall health of the population. It fosters critical thinking in students and enables them to better understand disease processes, on top of contributing to an academic portfolio of experiences and publications. Health solutions are found through research and are the foundation for its implementation in society. However not all research gets published, or does so in journals with low visibility, due to a lack of time, writing skills or experience in the publication process; varying English proficiency levels and involvement in research; amongst others. For these reasons, the Facultad de Medicina of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) has implemented various strategies, one being the use of Research to Publication, to develop quality research that will get published in high impact journals,

Due to competing priorities a subscription to Research to Publication was not enough to meet UNAM’s research literacy goals or significantly improve output. The best results were achieved when BMJ worked together with the faculty to promote and track user adoption and engagement. Efforts included: • Collaborative sessions with members of BMJ’s product, marketing, and engagement teams. • A customized FAQ page helped address user questions, while web and email campaigns helped nurture their progress. • Faculty members contributed as mentors and group leaders monitored individual user progress through frequent registration and engagement reports. • Users chose one of two syllabi based on their level of experience with research and writing skills.

extending the reach of the information generated at the school and in parallel foment a culture of research amongst students.

Solution Research to Publication

seemed ideal for UNAM’s needs Research to Publication is an online research methodology and publishing program. It combines the expertise of a global healthcare knowledge provider, BMJ, and a world-class university in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to help doctors and healthcare researchers develop research skills and publish in high-quality journals. The flexible program is organized into eight courses, covering everything from developing good research questions and the best study designs to reporting studies and understanding what editors and peer reviewers are looking for.

Because completing research and getting it published is a long journey, we chose to collect user feedback exactly one year after completing Research to Publication and then again at the 2-year mark. We followed the author’s journey for a subset of 60 participants. Results Research to Publication helped develop well-rounded healthcare professionals One year after Research to Publication, 72% of the participants had completed a research project or clinical case study, and 35% had published. Seventy- six percent of them were considering working on another article in a couple years. Further, 97% of the participants said the course was a valuable investment of their time. The study found that the tool encour- aged networking, as 87% of the respond- ers said the course stimulated collabo- ration with other departments, including the library, research department, and alumni. These transferable skills can benefit even those who choose a career outside of clinical practice. Here's what two UNAM users had to say about Research to Publication:

lead author on three of the 14 articles she had published two years after the program. Dr. García Ulloa had never been the lead author before, and her articles had limited reach. After participating in the course, her articles have received more than 300 citations. These are only two examples of how Research to Publication can improve research and writing performance. How- ever, we still wanted to understand the program’s impact on the researcher’s pro- fessional lives. That's why we interviewed two graduates to collect more insights. Research to Publication influenced a student in his journey towards publication Dr. Huitzilihuitl Saucedo-Orozco took the course in 2018. At the time, he was working on his master’s degree in medical sciences. He had never published before, so he was eager to learn how to conduct clinical trials. Today, he is a Ph.D. candidate and still refers to the course notes every now and then. The most helpful modules were “Choosing the best study design” and “How to do ethical research,” he said. According to Dr. Orozco, the most significant barriers to conducting research in his country are the lack of financial resources and getting approval from the ethics committee. He mentioned that it can be harder to get funding at the start of your career. When asked about the personal challenges he had to overcome to get an article published, Dr. Orozco said, “I guess the peer review. Sometimes it can be hard to understand that part of the process. Another challenge is choosing the most appropriate journal. That was tough for me."

“ I believe that the course should be more widely disseminated not only in the student community but also in the academic and research community of the university so that faculty academics will be interested in participating in the program.”

José Luis Alaniz Arcos, Professor

Research to Publication improved the quality and quantity of published works Two years after completing Research to Publication, nearly 20% of novice researchers had already become first- time authors. Additionally, experienced authors saw a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of their publications after taking the course. The results were impressive, to say the least, as Research to Publication produced a marked effect on students’ publishing rate. In one example, María Guadalupe Miranda-Novales, a 2019 graduate of the course, published nine articles in the two years following her completion of Research to Publication. She was the lead author in four of them. Before taking the course, she had published 23 articles in 21 years and had been the lead author only once. The course not only helped her publish more articles in less time but also increased the number of articles published in English and in high-quality international journals. Ana Cristina García Ulloa, a 2018 Research to Publication graduate, was another success story. She was the

“ I loved the BMJ platform. I hope that in the near future, you will be able to give all UNAM students the opportunity to use it. UNAM has also been of great help in putting us in contact with researchers who will help us with our research project.”

Martín Roberto Basile Álvarez, Student, UNAM 2021

The positive impact of Research to Publication on the career of an experienced researcher Dr. Guillermo Delgado-García is a 2018 Research to Publication graduate who has published 60 articles throughout his research career. Twenty-five of these articles were published two years after completing the Research to Publication course – all in international journals. He was the lead author in 12 of them. He believes that one of the biggest challenges in learning research skills is that clinical research knowledge is not part of the curriculum at Latin American medical schools, at least that was the case a few years ago. Luckily, this scenario is starting to change. He also mentioned the language barrier that exists, since many Latin Americans struggle to write in English. He has

Research to Publication helped him overcome these challenges. “The course mentions some tools and gives advice on how we can choose or keep in mind that there are different types of journals. It was really helpful for me. When preparing for my first round of clinical trials, I remember referring to my notes twice because I know I used some of the methods mentioned.” After completing the course, Dr. Orozco published his first article in an international journal, a clinical study investigating cardiac computer tomography (CT) aortic valve disease evaluation. The researcher has now published six articles in total, three of them as the lead author. “I’m a Ph.D. student, but I'm also a cardiologist, so the clinical part is very important to me; it's my job. Master’s degrees (students) are not involved in randomized clinical trials; it's difficult because we don't receive training in this

area. My university gave the license to take the course, and it was really helpful.”

Dr. Orozco believes the course helped him evolve as a researcher. He was recently accepted into Amsterdam's University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) Ph.D. program. For him, being published improved his CV and opened up new opportunities. He also feels that the course helped him overcome his insecurities. “Five years ago, I wasn’t an experienced writer. Sometimes we feel that we can’t publish because we think, 'maybe my work is not good enough for that journal, or maybe it’s not important to other people.' So taking the course helped me a lot.” Dr. Orozco believes Research to Publication is beneficial for MD students, residents, and others involved in clinical trials early in their careers since the course is easy to follow and understand.

The researcher has won the 2021 Bruce S. Schoenberg International Award in Neuroepidemiology by the American Academy of Neurology. He is now more optimistic than ever about his professional future. For Dr. Delgado, it’s vital to include courses like this in the medical school’s curriculum at UNAM, especially in MD and Ph.D. research programs. In his opinion, this will help the students publish in better journals and improve the university’s visibility. He sees teaching research and investigative skills as a critical priority in the medical education curriculum in order to develop solid researchers, who are fundamental to the advancement of medicine and medical innovation. Conclusion UNAM administrators’ decision to use Research to Publication contributed in part to help the medical school reach one of its primary goals of developing more well-rounded healthcare professionals while increasing research output at the university. The course made demonstrably positive impacts on users, including increasing the quality and quantity of publications, and opening the door to new career opportunities.

some advice for the 20-year-old version of himself: “Improve your English!” For him, this should be a mandatory skill for those who want to be successful in clinical research, as most international journals only publish articles in English. He remembers that the most challenging part of starting his first research project was getting funding. “When you plan to do a big project, the first thing you need to do is to apply for grants. But nobody tells you that grant writing is a very specific skill. It’s a mix between scientific writing and optimistic feelings. You need specific training on grant writing. That’s the only way to get the money."

the journal wants, the likelihood of acceptance is, of course, higher.”

Dr. Delgado has had a remarkable journey as a published author. He had authored dozens of publications before completing Research to Publication. Since he completed the course, his articles have increased in citations, exposure, and impact. The researcher recently published an article in JAMA Neurology, which has had the biggest impact on his career so far. “ The main thing I learned from this course is that I got this sense about what journals want. And the second thing is that somehow the course helped me with my academic writing. These are the two factors that improved my academic performance for good.” “ I’m not publishing more papers; I’m publishing better papers. Better study designs, larger sample sizes, publishing in better journals, higher impact factors. Now I’m doing more solid, big studies.”

When he heard about Research to Publication, he was attracted

immediately, mainly because it was a joint initiative between BMJ and UCSF. He reviewed the curriculum and found it relevant for his career development, especially the research methodology component. The researcher believes the program helped him better understand the publication process. “The way one journal makes a decision is different from another journal. With this course, you start to make sense of how the journals work and what the journals want. If you are able to provide what

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