ViewpointReversing the decline of academic medicine in Europe
Section snippets
Signs of decline
The most important sign of the poor state of academic medicine is a fall in recruitment to clinical academic posts in Europe during the past decade. Evidence of this comes from countries with a traditionally strong research base.11, 12, 13 For example, in the UK, in 2004 there were 17% fewer clinical lecturers compared with the previous year, with some specialties having fewer than 75% of the numbers in 2000.12 The length of training for clinical scientists has increased, reflecting greater
Poor public perception of science
The decline in academic medicine occurs at a time of changing attitudes in society. Modern science is founded on the intellectual enlightenment that saw experimental method and rational thought replace inherited dogma. However, for many people the benefits of scientific advances can be unclear. Science has made great advances in, for example, space research, nuclear physics, transport, and genetics. Although these advances can be perceived by the general public as positive steps, they can also
Funding crisis
Several specialties have raised concern about cuts in clinical research funding.28, 29 Funding in the EU15 was 1·99% of gross domestic product (GDP) compared with 2·76% in the USA.30 Furthermore, at a time of expansion of the EU, the political requirement for integration demands that a substantial proportion of Framework Programme (the main instrument for funding research by the EU) spending is directed to supporting the logistical costs of interaction between collaborating centres, reducing
The need for change
Science has played a critical role in the development of society, and remains at the heart of our most important debates such as environmental change, reproductive cloning, and genetic manipulation of health. Academic medicine has made great contributions to the treatment and prevention of disease in the past century, but is now in decline in Europe. Can this decline be reversed, and if so how?
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