FIMA Year Book 2009 - Federation of Islamic Medical Associations

Clinicians As Effective ResearchersFinancial SupportDeveloped countries have recognizedthat support for research anddevelopment pays rich dividends inthe long run. The amount invested inresearch and development in Japanis 2.9% of the gross domestic product(GDP). In the United States and Europe,it averages between 1.5% and 3% of theGDP. The Southeast Asian countriesaverage 0.89% of their GDP, and in theArab countries it averages only 0.23%of the GDP, with the exception of Qatar,where the percentage is 2.8%. Thesenumbers translate to $19 per personin Saudi Arabia, $665 per person inthe United States, and $649 per personin Japan. In developed countries, theprivate sector plays a major role insupporting research and development.For example in the United States, thegovernment provides the NIH with anannual budget of around $28 billion,whereas the private sector supportfor research in the United States isestimated to be double that amount.A good example of the rich returnsfor research investment are evidentwith the recent epidemic of HIV/AIDS, which, in the mid 1980s, had notreatment and had a very high mortalityrate. If this trend had continued, it isestimated that in the United States wewould have more than 200,000 hospitalbeds occupied by AIDS patients.Thankfully, with an investment of $10billion dollars over 10 years the viruswas identified, drugs were discovered,and the treatment of this deadly diseasechanged from inpatient treatment tooutpatient long-term care. Thus the $10billion investment saved $1.4 trillion inhealth-care costs, or a 1:140 return (11) .SummaryBased on the author’s personalexperience as a clinical researcherand having overseen the expandingresearch at KFMC since 2007, wherethe submissions of research proposalshave grown from 27 in 2007 to 62 in2008. Submissions are projected toreach close to 100 in 2009. The keyfactors for success in research areintellectual curiosity; asking the keyquestions; “but why,” persistence; followup to test hypotheses; honesty andintegrity in collecting data; reportingall findings, both the expected and theunexpected; assessing what is availableand doable in the place you work, asthere is no point in doing researchin transplantation if your institutiondoes not have a transplant program;and most of all, learning to collaborateand cooperate. On top of that, there isan element of luck involved, being inthe right environment, having accessto role models, and having a helpfulmentor and cooperative peers.Follow UpAll of the good work is of little value ifit does not get presented or publishedso the results of the investigators’ workcan be shared with a larger community.Here are a few suggestions in getting thematerial published: The qualities of themanuscript and the journal must match;FIMA YearBook 2009134